Origin of steam organ

First recorded in 1785–95

Example sentences from the Web for steam organ

  • And the artist who sat inside the steam-organ wagon became so sleepy that his hand slipped and struck one of the organ pedals.

    Through Welsh Doorways |Jeannette Augustus Marks
  • They could hear above the thud-thud of the gorged floodgates, shrieks in two keys as monotonous as a steam-organ.

    A Diversity of Creatures |Rudyard Kipling
  • It was a very beautiful meal, and the far-off music of the steam-organ added the last touch of festivity to the scene.

British Dictionary definitions for steam organ

steam organ

noun

a type of organ powered by steam, once common at fairgrounds, in which the pipes are sounded either by a keyboard or in a sequence determined by a moving punched card US name: calliope