bugle

¹bu·gle

noun \ˈbyü-gəl\

Definition of BUGLE

: any of a genus (Ajuga) of plants of the mint family; especially : a European annual (A. reptans) that has spikes of blue flowers and is naturalized in the United States

Origin of BUGLE

Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Late Latin bugula

First Known Use: 13th century

Other Seed Plant Terms

aubergine, box, bramble, briar, composite, perpetual, pulse, trefoil

Rhymes with BUGLE

Brueghel, frugal, fugal, kugel

²bugle

noun

Definition of BUGLE

: a valveless brass instrument that resembles a trumpet and is used especially for military calls

Illustration of BUGLE

Origin of BUGLE

Middle English, buffalo, instrument made of buffalo horn, bugle, from Anglo-French, from Latin buculus, diminutive of bos head of cattle — more at cow

First Known Use: 14th century

Other Music Terms

cacophony, chorister, concerto, counterpoint, madrigal, obbligato, presto, presto, refrain, riff, segue

³bugle

intransitive verb

bu·gled bu·gling \-g(ə-)liŋ\

Definition of BUGLE

1

: to sound a bugle

2

: to utter the characteristic rutting call of the bull elk

First Known Use of BUGLE

1847

Other Music Terms

cacophony, chorister, concerto, counterpoint, madrigal, obbligato, presto, presto, refrain, riff, segue

⁴bugle

noun

Definition of BUGLE

: a small cylindrical bead of glass or plastic used for trimming especially on women's clothing

Origin of BUGLE

perhaps from ²bugle

First Known Use: 1579

Other Clothing Terms

babushka, brogue, bumbershoot, cravat, dishabille, furbelow, layette, raiment, spectator

bugle

noun    (Concise Encyclopedia)

Soprano brass instrument historically used for hunting and military signaling. It developed from an 18th-century semicircular German hunting horn with widely expanding bore. In the 19th century the semicircle was reshaped into an oblong double loop. Natural bugles use only harmonics 2–6 (producing tones of the C triad) in their calls (“Reveille,” “Taps,” etc.). The keyed bugle, patented in 1810, has six sideholes and keys which give it a complete chromatic scale. In the 1820s valves were added to produce the flügelhorn and, in lower ranges, the baritone, euphonium, and saxhorns.