Hurdle

an old English word meaning originally wickerwork. A movable frame made by interlacing or weaving twigs and branches. The history of the word is interesting. Hurdle huts were made of wicker frames plastered with clay. Any sledge or frame made of slender pieces of wood came to be called a hurdle. The citizens of London dragged criminals to the place of execution on a hurdle. In military affairs, a hurdle is a similar frame placed on edge and sustained by stakes as a slight protection against missiles and the attack of the enemy. Naturally enough, hurdles were used to close gaps in hedges, whence the name became attached to gates and to an inclosure or fold. In fox hunting, horses were taught to leap gates and hurdles. In a hurdle race, bars are erected at intervals along the course in semblance of a gate or fence. A hurdle race may be run either on foot or on horseback. See Athletics

Hurdy-gurdy, a musical instrument of rustic England. It consists of four strings stretched on a box after the manner of a lute. Two are tuned a fifth apart for the production of a drone bass. The other two are tuned in unison. They can be shortened by pressing finger keys. The strings are sounded by a rosined wheel. The wheel is turned by a crank in the left hand, the right hand being free to play the finger keys. The hurdy-gurdy is carried usually by a band around the neck. It is a crude, harsh instrument, with little musical compass, and, indeed, with little music of any sort. It works more or less like a hand organ. It dates from the ninth century.