Banjo

Banjo (originally a mere negro mispronunciation of bandore, derived through the medium of Spanish or Portuguese, from Lat. pandura, Gr. pandoura, a three-stringed musical instrument), an instrument of the guitar kind, played with the fingers, but without frets to guide the stopping. It has a long neck; a body like a drum, of parchment stretched on a hoop, and without a back; and from five to nine catgut strings. It has become known principally through its use by the coloured minstrels of the United States, a company of whom came to England in 1846; and it is at present on the increase in popularity. See NEGROES.