- pipe
- O.E. pipe "musical wind instrument," also "tube to convey water," from V.L. *pipa "a pipe" (cf. It. pipa, Fr. pipe, Ger. Pfeife, Dan. pibe, Du. pijp), a back-formation from L. pipare "to chirp or peep," of imitative origin. All tubular senses ultimately derive from "small reed, whistle." Meaning "device for smoking" first recorded 1594. The verb sense of "to play on a pipe" is from O.E. pipian; the meaning "convey through pipes" is first recorded 1889. A pipe dream (1896) is the sort of improbably fantasy one has while smoking opium. Piping hot is in Chaucer, a reference to hissing of food in a frying pan; to pipe up (c.1425) originally meant "to begin to play" (on a musical instrument). Pipe down "be quiet" first recorded 1900.