- flute
- late 14c., from O.Fr. flaute, from O.Prov. flaut, of uncertain origin, perhaps imitative or from L. flare "to blow;" perhaps influenced by Prov. laut "lute." The other Germanic words (cf. Ger. flöte) are likewise borrowings from French. Ancient flutes were blown through a mouthpiece, like a recorder; the modern transverse or German flute developed 18c. The modern design and key system of the concert flute were perfected 1834 by Theobald Boehm. The architectural sense of "furrow in a pillar" (1650s) is from fancied resemblance to the inside of a flute split down the middle. Meaning "tall, slender wine glass" is from 1640s. The verb is recorded from late 14c. in sense "to play upon the flute;" meaning "to make (architectural) flutes" is from 1570s. Related: Fluted; fluting.
- carol (n.)
- c.1300, from O.Fr. carole "kind of dance," from M.L. choraula "a dance to the flute," from L. choraules, from Gk. khoraules "flute player who accompanies the choral dance," from khoros "chorus" + aulein "to play the flute," from aulos "reed instrument." The meaning of "Christmas hymn" is c.1500.
- flout
- 1550s, perhaps a special use of M.E. flowten "to play the flute" (cf. M.Du. fluyten "to play the flute," also "to jeer"). Related: Flouted; flouting.
- flautist
- 1860, from It. flautista, from flauto "flute" (from L. flauta, see flute) + Gk.-derived suffix -ista.
- tibia
- lower leg bone, 1726, from L. tibia "shinbone," also "pipe, flute," in which sense it originally came into English (1540s). Of unknown origin. The Latin plural is tibiæ.
- geisha
- 1887, "Japanese girl whose profession is to sing and dance to entertain men;" hence, loosely, "prostitute," from Japanese, lit. "person accomplished in the social arts," from gei "art, performance" + sha "person." Cf. Athenian auletrides "flute-girls," female musicians who entertained guests at a symposium with music at the start of the party and sex at the end of it.
- high-falutin'
- 1848, U.S. slang, possibly from high-flying, or flown, or even flute.
- striation
- 1849, from Mod.L. stria "strip, streak," in classical L. "furrow, channel, flute of a column;" cognate with Du. striem, O.H.G. strimo, Ger. strieme "stripe, streak," from PIE base *streig- (see strigil).
- piccolo
- 1856, from Fr. piccolo, from It. flauto piccolo "small flute," from piccolo "small," perhaps a children's made-up word or from picca "point," or perhaps from V.L. root *pikk- "little," related to *piccare "to pierce" (see pike (2)).
- recorder
- "chief legal officer of a city," early 15c., from Anglo-Fr. recordour (early 14c.), O.Fr. recordeor, from M.L. recordator, from L. recordari "remember" (see record (v.)). The musical instrument is attested by this name from early 15c., from record (v.) in the obsolete sense of "practice a tune." The name, and the thing, were rarely heard by mid-1800s, ousted by the flute, but enjoyed a revival after 1911 as an easy-to-play instrument for musical beginners.
- susurration
- "whisper, murmur," c.1400, from L. susurrationem (nom. susurratio), from pp. of susurrare, from susurrus "murmur, whisper," a reduplication of the PIE imitative base *swer- (cf. Skt. svarati "sounds, resounds," Gk. syrinx "flute," L. surdus "dull, mute," O.C.S. svirati "to whistle," Lith. surmo "pipe, shawm," Ger. schwirren "to buzz," O.E. swearm "swarm").
- muse (n.)
- late 14c., protectors of the arts, from L. Musa, from Gk. Mousa, lit. "muse, music, song," from PIE root *mon-/*men-/*mn- "to think, remember" (see mind (n.)). The names of the nine Muses, daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne (q.v.), and their specialties are traditionally: Calliope (epic poetry), Clio (history), Erato (love poetry, lyric art), Euterpe (music, especially flute), Melpomene (tragedy), Polymnia (hymns), Terpsichore (dance), Thalia (comedy), Urania (astronomy).
- Anacreontic
- of or in the manner of Anacreon, "convivial bard of Greece," the celebrated Gk. lyrical poet, born at Teos in Ionia (560-478 B.C.E.). In ref. to his lyric form (1706) of a four-line stanza, rhymed alternately, each line with four beats (three trochees and a long syllable), also "convivial and amatory" (1801); and "an erotic poem celebrating love and wine" (1650s). Francis Scott Key in 1814 set or wrote his poem "The Star-Spangled Banner" to the melody of "To Anacreon in Heav'n," the drinking song of the popular London gentleman's club called The Anacreontic Society, whose membership was dedicated to "wit, harmony, and the god of wine."
To Anacreon in Heav'n, where he sat in full glee,
The tune is late 18c. and may be the work of society member and court musician John Stafford Smith (1750-1836).
A few Sons of Harmony sent a petition;
That he their Inspirer and Patron wou'd be;
When this answer arrived from the Jolly Old Grecian;
"Voice, Fiddle, and Flute,
No longer be mute,
I'll lend you my name and inspire you to boot,
And besides I'll instruct you like me, to intwine,
The Myrtle of Venus with Bacchus's Vine." - spirit (n.)
- c.1250, "animating or vital principle in man and animals," from O.Fr. espirit, from L. spiritus "soul, courage, vigor, breath," related to spirare "to breathe," from PIE *(s)peis- "to blow" (cf. O.C.S. pisto "to play on the flute"). Original usage in Eng. mainly from passages in Vulgate, where the L. word translates Gk. pneuma and Heb. ruah. Distinction between "soul" and "spirit" (as "seat of emotions") became current in Christian terminology (e.g. Gk. psykhe vs. pneuma, L. anima vs. spiritus) but "is without significance for earlier periods" [Buck]. L. spiritus, usually in classical L. "breath," replaces animus in the sense "spirit" in the imperial period and appears in Christian writings as the usual equivalent of Gk. pneuma. Meaning "supernatural being" is attested from c.1300 (see ghost); that of "essential principle of something" (in a non-theological sense, e.g. Spirit of St. Louis) is attested from 1690, common after 1800. Plural form spirits "volatile substance" is an alchemical idea, first attested 1610; sense narrowed to "strong alcoholic liquor" by 1678. This also is the sense in spirit level (1768).