Hurdy Gurdy

n. musical instrument played by the action of a rotating cylinder and equipped with pins; hand organ

A hurdy gurdy (also known as a "wheel fiddle") is a stringed musical instrument in which the strings are sounded by means of a rosined wheel which the strings of the instrument pass over. This wheel, turned with a crank, functions much like a violin bow, making the instrument essentially a mechanical violin. Melodies are played on a keyboard that presses tangents (small wedges, usually made of wood) against one or more of these strings to change their pitch. Like most other acoustic string instruments, it has a soundboard to make the vibration of the strings audible.
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Noun
1. a musical instrument that makes music by rotation of a cylinder studded with pegs
(synonym) barrel organ, grind organ, hand organ, street organ
(hypernym) musical instrument, instrument

(n.)
In California, a water wheel with radial buckets, driven by the impact of a jet.
  

(n.)
A stringled instrument, lutelike in shape, in which the sound is produced by the friction of a wheel turned by a crank at the end, instead of by a bow, two of the strings being tuned as drones, while two or more, tuned in unison, are modulated by keys.
  

a mechanical development of the violin with the strings vibrated by a wheel, and keys stopping the strings. found throughout Europe. See also Vielle and Nyckelharpa.