bourdon

1. The drone pipe of a bagpipe.
2. The bass string, as of a violin.
3. An organ stop, commonly of the 16-foot pipes, medium in scale but with dark timbre.

[Middle English burdoun, bass, from Old French bourdon.]

(Fr.)

A term analogous to the English ‘burden’, used of the lowest drone on the hurdy-gurdy and of the free vibrating strings of the larger lutes such as the theorbo and bowed instruments such as the lira da braccio; also the lowest partial (‘hum note’) of tower bells.

The noun has one meaning:

Meaning #1: a pipe of the bagpipe that is tuned to produce a single continuous tone
  Synonyms: drone, drone pipe

Bourdon can mean:

• A bourdon is a type of bell
• A bourdon is a type of organ pipe, though may also refer to other meanings of the term diapason
• Bourdon, Somme, a town in France
• A Bourdon gauge or Bourdon tube is used in pressure measurement, invented by Eugene Bourdon. See Pressure measurement#Bourdon
• Boudon noir, an alternative name for the Italian wine grape Dolcetto

Bourdon is also a surname and may refer to:

• Amé Bourdon, 17th century French physician
• Eugene Bourdon, French watchmaker and engineer
• François Louis Bourdon, 18th century French politician
• Luc Bourdon a former NHL defenseman with the Vancouver Canucks
• Rob Bourdon, the drummer of Linkin Park
• Sébastien Bourdon, 17th century French painter
• William Bourdon the secretary-general of the International Federation of Human Rights Leagues

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