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bou·zou·ki

(b-zkē, bə-)

n. pl. bou·zou·kis

A Greek stringed instrument having a long fretted neck and usually pear-shaped body.

[Modern Greek mpouzoúki, from Turkish bozuk (saz), a kind of saz (literally, "broken saz"), from bozuk, broken (probably in reference to bozuk düzen, broken tuning, a kind of reentrant tuning often used on the saz and bouzouki); akin to Old Turkic buzuk, destroyed, spoiled, from buzmaq, to destroy, spoil.]

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bouzouki

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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