: a small guitar of Portuguese origin popularized in Hawaii in the 1880s and strung typically with four strings
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Meetups consist of playing popular songs together and sharing ukulele playing tips.—Joe Rassel, The Orlando Sentinel, 21 May 2025 Perhaps the uke community has an America First contingent made up of ukulele isolationists.—Jody Mamone, Hartford Courant, 20 May 2025 Music and ukuleles are provided to anyone who needs one during the jam.—Ramona Sentinel, San Diego Union-Tribune, 16 May 2025 Midway through the concert, some fans Perez recognized from one of her earliest New York gigs wedged their way to the front and passed her a ukulele.—Dani Blum, New York Times, 30 Apr. 2025 See All Example Sentences for ukulele
: a usually four-stringed small guitar popularized in Hawaii
Etymology
from Hawaiian ʽukulele "ukulele," literally, "jumping flea," from ʽuku "flea" + lele "jumping"
Word Origin
In the 19th century, a former British army officer named Edward Purvis lived in Hawaii as an official at the royal court. Purvis is said to have been given the Hawaiian nickname of ʽukulele, which means "jumping flea," because he was small and lively. In 1879 Portuguese immigrants arrived in the Hawaiian Islands. They brought several of their native instruments, among them a small four-stringed guitar. Purvis liked this new instrument. He quickly learned to play it. In time the small guitar became a favorite, and it took the nickname of the man who had made it popular.
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