flute

¹flute

noun \ˈflüt\

Definition of FLUTE

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

Illustration of FLUTE

Origin of FLUTE

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

First Known Use: 14th century

Other Music Terms

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

²flute

verb

flut·edflut·ing

Definition of FLUTE

intransitive verb

1

: to play a flute

2

: to produce a flutelike sound

transitive verb

1

: to utter with a flutelike sound

2

: to form flutes in

— flut·er noun

First Known Use of FLUTE

14th century

flute

noun    (Concise Encyclopedia)

Woodwind instrument in which the sound is produced by blowing against a sharp edge. In its broad sense, a flute may be end-blown, like the recorder, or may have a globular shape, like the ocarina. In its narrow sense, discussed below, flute refers to the transverse flute of Western music. The transverse flute, a tubular instrument held sideways to the right, appeared in Greece and Etruria by the 2nd century BC. By the 16th century a family of boxwood flutes, with fingerholes but no keys, was in use in Europe. Keys began to be added in the late 17th century. Theobald Boehm's 19th-century innovations resulted in the modern flute, which permits thorough expressive control and great agility. The cylindrical tube may be made of wood or, more often, a precious metal or alloy. Its range is from about middle C to the C three octaves higher. The flute family includes the piccolo (pitched an octave higher), the alto flute, and the rare bass flute. See also shakuhachi.