zampogna, n.

zampogna
http://www.oed.com/dictionary/zampogna_n%3Ftab%3Dmeaning_and_use
First published 1986; not fully revised

# zampognanoun

## Earlier version

- zampogna in OED Second Edition (1989)

## Factsheet

### What does the noun zampogna mean?

There is one meaning in OED's entry for the noun zampogna. See ‘Meaning & use’ for definition, usage, and quotation evidence.

#### Entry status

OED is undergoing a continuous programme of revision to modernize and improve definitions. This entry has not yet been fully revised.

### How common is the noun zampogna?

Fewer than 0.01occurrences per million words in modern written English

1790 | 0.0022
1800 | 0.002
1810 | 0.0024
1820 | 0.0023
1830 | 0.0024
1840 | 0.0026
1850 | 0.0031
1860 | 0.0027
1870 | 0.0028
1880 | 0.0023
1890 | 0.0021
1900 | 0.0017
1910 | 0.0016
1920 | 0.0016
1930 | 0.0023
1940 | 0.0025
1950 | 0.0027
1960 | 0.003
1970 | 0.0031
1980 | 0.0032
1990 | 0.0032
2000 | 0.0026
2010 | 0.0023

### How is the noun zampogna pronounced?

#### British English

/zamˈpəʊnjə/
zam-POH-nyuh
/tsamˈpəʊnjə/
tsam-POH-nyuh

#### U.S. English

/zæmˈpoʊnjə/
zam-POH-nyuh
/zɑmˈpoʊnjə/
zahm-POH-nyuh

### Where does the noun zampogna come from?

Earliest known use

mid 1700s

The earliest known use of the noun zampogna is in the mid 1700s.

OED's earliest evidence for zampogna is from 1740, in a dictionary by James Grassineau.

zampogna is a borrowing from Italian.

### Nearby entries

1. zambuk, n. 1906–
2. zamburak, n. 1825–
3. zami, n. 1977–
4. Zamia, n. 1819–
5. zamindar, n. 1683–
6. zamindari, n. & adj. 1742–
7. zamindarship, n. 1698–1902
8. zamioid, adj. 1860–
9. zamorin, n. 1582–
10. zampino, n. 1881–
11. zampogna, n.1740–
12. zampone, n. 1860–
13. zamzawed, adj. 1743–
14. Zamzummim, n. 1530–
15. Zande, n. 1873–
16. zander, n. 1854–
17. zanella, n. 1876–
18. zanily, adv. 1936–
19. zaniness, n. 1933–
20. Zante, n. 1615–
21. Zantedeschia, n. 1836–

## Etymology

### Summary

A borrowing from Italian.
Italian < late Latin *sumpōnia, symphōnia (see symphony n.). Compare Spanish zampoña, Portuguese sanfon(h)a.

## Meaning & use

Music.

1. 1740–
   A traditional wind-blown bagpipe of southern Italy having two chanters and two drones; also, any wood-wind instrument.
   1. 1740

      > Zampogna, sometimes written Sampogna..is..any instrument that sounds like a Flute and particularly a Bag-pipe, being an assemblage of divers pipes of different sizes.

      J. Grassineau, translation of S. De Brossard, Musical Dictionary 343
   2. 1786

      > Zampogna, or Sampogna, the Flute-à-Bec, or common flute.

      T. Busby, Complete Dictionary of Music
   3. 1826

      > The peasantry and shepherds from Abruzzo, Calabria, and Apulia,..come from the mountains in their sheepskin dresses, playing on their various instruments, some on the Zampogna, (a kind of bagpipe), others on the Colascione.

      M. Kelly, Reminisc. (1975) ii. 30
   4. 1876

      > A rough-toned reed instrument without a bag is also called Zampogna or Zampugna.

      J. Stainer & W. A. Barrett, Dictionary of Musical Terms 455/1
   5. 1954

      > Italian pipers..make a practice of coming into the towns at the Christmas season to serenade the images of the Infant Christ, which are set up at the roadside. They also formerly visited Britain as strolling musicians, but they appear to have abandoned this habit many years ago; they were all players of the zampogna.

      Grove's Dictionary Music (ed. 5) vol. I. 351/1
   6. 1977

      > It was..good to see no less than two sets of zampognas, from the early 19th century.

      Early Music vol. 5 555/2
   7. 1983

      > Vocalists will be accompanied on such classic Old World instruments as the zampogna.

      New York Times 26 June xi. (Westchester Weekly section) 13/1
   music
   1. stive c1290
      A kind of bagpipe. Cf. stivour, n.
   2. bagpipe c1350–
      A musical instrument with reed pipes that are sounded by the pressure of wind emitted from a bag squeezed by the player's arm. In singular.
   3. cornemuse c1384–1882
      A horn-pipe; an early form of the bagpipe.
   4. bags c1390–
      In plural. Bagpipes. Cf. pipe, n.¹ I.1c. Now rare.
   5. musette a1393–
      Any of various kinds of small bagpipes; esp. a bellows-blown bagpipe of exquisite design, popular at the French court in the 17th and early 18th…
   6. pair 1422–
      A set of bagpipes or virginals (formerly also of organs).
   7. pipe c1450–
      Chiefly Scottish. A set of bagpipes. Now chiefly in plural.
   8. muse 1484
      A bagpipe. Cf. musette, n. 1a.
   9. drone 1502–1858
      A bagpipe or similar wind instrument that produces a continuous low tone. Obsolete.
   10. lilt-pipe a1525
       ? A bagpipe.
   11. great pipe 1592–
       The Highland bagpipe; = piob mhor, n.
   12. miskin 1593
       A small bagpipe.
   13. Highland pipe 1599–
       = Highland bagpipe, n.; also in plural. Cf. great pipe, n., piob mhor, n.
   14. small-pipes 1656–
       (Usually with plural agreement) a set of bellows-filled bagpipes, esp. of a kind indigenous to Northumberland; also in singular in same sense.
   15. piffero 1724–
       Any of various Italian woodwind instruments, esp. one with a double reed.
   16. Highland bagpipe 1728–
       A type of bagpipe associated with the Scottish Highlands; spec. one having three drones and a chanter, and a bag which the piper inflates by…
   17. zampogna 1740–
       A traditional wind-blown bagpipe of southern Italy having two chanters and two drones; also, any wood-wind instrument.
   18. union pipes 1788–
       A type of bagpipes, associated with Ireland, played held on the knee using bellows worked by the elbow; = uillean pipes, n. Also occasionally in sin…
   19. Lowland pipes 1794–
       A type of bagpipes, associated with the Scottish Borders, in which the bag is filled by bellows worked by the elbow; also called Border pipes…
   20. pibroch 1807–
       The bagpipes; a set of bagpipes. rare.
   21. piob mhor 1838–
       The Highland bagpipe.
   22. gaita 1846–
       A Spanish musical instrument resembling the bagpipes.
   23. sack pipe 1889–
       A bagpipe (Cent. Dict.).
   24. set 1893–
       A ‘pair’ of organs, of bagpipes: see pair, n.¹ II.6.
   25. biniou 1902–
       The form of bagpipe used in Brittany.
   26. uillean pipes 1906–
       = union pipes, n. Rarely in singular.
   View in Historical Thesaurus

## Pronunciation

### British English

/zamˈpəʊnjə/
zam-POH-nyuh
/tsamˈpəʊnjə/
tsam-POH-nyuh

### U.S. English

/zæmˈpoʊnjə/
zam-POH-nyuh
/zɑmˈpoʊnjə/
zahm-POH-nyuh
/tsæmˈpoʊnjə/
tsam-POH-nyuh
/tsɑmˈpoʊnjə/
tsahm-POH-nyuh

####

##### Consonants

- ppea
- ttea
- kkey
- bbuy
- ddye
- ɡguy
- tʃchore
- dʒjay
- ffore
- θthaw
- ssore
- ʃshore
- vvee
- ðthee
- zzee
- ʒbeige
- xloch
- hhay
- llay
- ɬrhingyll
- rray
- wway
- jyore
- mmay
- nnay
- ŋsing

Some consonants can take the function of the vowel in unstressed syllables. Where necessary, a syllabic marker diacritic is used, hence /ˈpɛtl/ but /ˈpɛtl̩i/.

##### Vowels

- iːfleece
- ihappy
- ɪkit
- ɛdress
- atrap, bath
- ɑːstart, palm, bath
- ɒlot
- ɔːthought, force
- ʌstrut
- ʊfoot
- uːgoose
- əletter
- əːnurse
- ɪənear
- ɛːsquare
- ʊəcure
- eɪface
- ʌɪpride
- aʊmouth
- əʊgoat
- ɔɪvoice
- ãgratin
- ɒ̃salon
- ᵻ(/ɪ/-/ə/)
- ᵿ(/ʊ/-/ə/)

##### Other symbols

- The symbol ˈ at the beginning of a syllable indicates that that syllable is pronounced with primary stress.
- The symbol ˌ at the beginning of a syllable indicates that that syllable is pronounced with secondary stress.
- Round brackets ( ) in a transcription indicate that the symbol within the brackets is optional.

View the pronunciation model here.

####

##### Consonants

- ppea
- ttea
- kkey
- bbuy
- ddye*
- ɡguy
- tʃchore
- dʒjay
- ffore
- θthaw
- ssore
- ʃshore
- vvee
- ðthee
- zzee
- ʒbeige
- xloch
- hhay
- llay
- rray
- wway
- jyore
- mmay
- nnay
- ŋsing

* /d/ also represents a 'tapped' /t/ as in

Some consonants can take the function of the vowel in unstressed syllables. Where necessary, a syllabic marker diacritic is used, hence /ˈpɛd(ə)l/ but /ˈpɛdl̩i/.

##### Vowels

- ifleece, happy
- ɪkit
- ɛdress
- ætrap, bath
- ɑlot, palm, cloth, thought
- ɑrstart
- ɔcloth, thought
- ɔrnorth, force
- ʊfoot
- ugoose
- əstrut, comma
- ərnurse, letter
- ɪ(ə)rnear
- ɛ(ə)rsquare
- ʊ(ə)rcure
- eɪface
- aɪpride
- aʊmouth
- oʊgoat
- ɔɪvoice
- ɑ̃gratin
- æ̃salon
- ᵻ(/ɪ/-/ə/)
- ᵿ(/ʊ/-/ə/)

##### Other symbols

- The symbol ˈ at the beginning of a syllable indicates that that syllable is pronounced with primary stress.
- The symbol ˌ at the beginning of a syllable indicates that that syllable is pronounced with secondary stress.
- Round brackets ( ) in a transcription indicate that the symbol within the brackets is optional.

View the pronunciation model here.

####

Simple text respell breaks words into syllables, separated by a hyphen. The syllable which carries the primary stress is written in capital letters. This key covers both British and U.S. English Simple Text Respell.

##### Consonants

b, d, f, h, k, l, m, n, p, r, s, t, v, w and z have their standard English values

- gguy
- jjay
- yyore
- chchore
- khloch
- shshore
- ththaw
- dhthee
- zhbeige

##### Vowels

- atrap
- ahpalm
- airsquare
- arstart
- arrcarry (British only)
- awthought
- ayface
- a(ng)gratin
- edress
- eefleece
- eerdeer
- errmerry
- ikit
- ighpride
- irrmirror
- olot (British only)
- ohgoat
- oogoose
- oorcure
- orforce
- orrsorry (British only)
- owmouth
- oyvoice
- o(ng)salon
- ustrut
- uhletter
- urnurse
- urrhurry
- uufoot

## Frequency

zampogna typically occurs fewer than 0.01 times per million words in modern written English.

zampogna is in frequency band 2, which contains words occurring between 0.001 and 0.01 times per million words in modern written English. More about OED's frequency bands

Frequency data is computed programmatically, and should be regarded as an estimate.

### Frequency of zampogna, n., 1790–2010

* Occurrences per million words in written English

Historical frequency series are derived from Google Books Ngrams (version 2), a data set based on the Google Books corpus of several million books printed in English between 1500 and 2010.

The overall frequency for a given word is calculated by summing frequencies for the main form of the word, any plural or inflected forms, and any major spelling variations.

For sets of homographs (distinct entries that share the same word-form, e.g. mole, n.¹, mole, n.², mole, n.³, etc.), we have estimated the frequency of each homograph entry as a fraction of the total Ngrams frequency for the word-form. This may result in inaccuracies.

Smoothing has been applied to series for lower-frequency words, using a moving-average algorithm. This reduces short-term fluctuations, which may be produced by variability in the content of the Google Books corpus.

Decade | Frequency per million words
--- | ---
1790 | 0.0022
1800 | 0.002
1810 | 0.0024
1820 | 0.0023
1830 | 0.0024
1840 | 0.0026
1850 | 0.0031
1860 | 0.0027
1870 | 0.0028
1880 | 0.0023
1890 | 0.0021
1900 | 0.0017
1910 | 0.0016
1920 | 0.0016
1930 | 0.0023
1940 | 0.0025
1950 | 0.0027
1960 | 0.003
1970 | 0.0031
1980 | 0.0032
1990 | 0.0032
2000 | 0.0026
2010 | 0.0023

zampogna, n. was first published in 1986; not fully revised.

zampogna, n. was last modified in June 2024.