Main Entry: ¹flute

Pronunciation: \ˈflüt\

Function: noun

Etymology: Middle English floute, from Anglo-French floute, fleute, from Old French flaüte, probably of imitative origin

Date: 14th century

1 a : recorder 3 b : a keyed woodwind instrument consisting of a cylindrical tube which is stopped at one end and which has a side hole over which air is blown to produce the tone and having a range from middle C upward for three octaves
2 : something long and slender: as a : a tall slender wineglass b : a grooved pleat (as on a hat brim)
3 : a rounded groove; specifically : one of the vertical parallel grooves on a classical architectural column

— flute·like \-ˌlīk\ adjective

— fluty or flut·ey \ˈflü-tē\ adjective

[flute illustration]