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The medieval fiddle emerged in 10th-century Europe, deriving from the Byzantine lira (Ancient Greek: λύρα, Latin: lira, English: lyre), a bowed string instrument of the Byzantine Empire and ancestor of most European bowed instruments.
Dec 19, 2019 · Fiddle has been relegated to colloquial usage by its more proper cousin, violin, a process encouraged by phraseology such as fiddlesticks (1620s), contemptuous nonsense word fiddle-de-dee (1784), and fiddle-faddle.
Sep 25, 2002 · Now for the origin of the fiddle: Two medieval instruments have been mentioned here as ancestors for the modern violin/fiddle. 1) The fidula, fyddle or simply ‘fiddle’ and 2) the Rebec.
Where does the noun fiddle come from? Earliest known use. Middle English. The earliest known use of the noun fiddle is in the Middle English period (1150—1500). OED's earliest evidence for fiddle is from around 1275, in the writing of Layamon, poet.
Fiddle, medieval European bowed, stringed musical instrument. The medieval fiddle, a forerunner of the violin, emerged in 10th-century Europe, possibly deriving from the lira, a Byzantine version of the rabāb, an Arab bowed instrument.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Although the first fiddles came with European immigrants, who played songs including reels and jigs, fiddles also became a strong part of African American music tradition in Appalachia, particularly in dance contexts.
The earliest known use of the verb fiddle is in the Middle English period (1150—1500). OED's earliest evidence for fiddle is from 1377, in the writing of William Langland, poet. It is also recorded as a noun from the Middle English period (1150—1500). fiddle is formed within English, by conversion.
