Gaohu
/ˈɡaʊ.huː/noun
A high-pitched Chinese two-stringed bowed instrument developed from the erhu and used especially in Cantonese music.
Did you know?The character 胡 in gaohu originally referred to peoples beyond China’s northern and western frontiers and later became associated with bowed instruments regarded as having foreign or non-Han origins.
Etymological Timeline
Ancient China
Classical Chinese
胡
“A term for peoples regarded as living beyond China’s northern or western borders; later also associated with foreign-origin instruments.”
Song Dynasty
Chinese
胡琴
“A category of bowed string instruments, literally “Hu instrument” or “foreign instrument.””
19th–early 20th Century
Chinese
二胡
“二胡 (erhu), the two-stringed bowed instrument from which the gaohu was developed.”
20th Century
Cantonese Chinese
高胡
““High hu,” referring to a higher-pitched version of the huqin-family instrument, particularly prominent in Cantonese ensembles.”
Modern English
English
gaohu
“The English loanword for the high-register Chinese bowed instrument.”