flute | Search Online Etymology Dictionary

25 entries found.

late 14c., "to play upon the flute," from flute (n.). Meaning "to make (architectural) flutes" is from 1570s. Related: Fluted; fluting.

flute (n.)

early 14c., from Old French flaut, flaute (musical) "flute" (12c.), from Old Provençal flaut, which is of uncertain origin; perhaps imitative or from Latin flare "to blow" (from PIE root *bhle- "to blow"); perhaps influenced by Provençal laut "lute." The other Germanic words (such as German flöte) are likewise borrowings from French.

Ancient flutes were direct, blown straight through a mouthpiece but held away from the player's mouth; the modern transverse or German flute developed 18c. The older style then sometimes were called flûte-a-bec (French, literally "flute with a beak"). 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.

fluted (adj.)

"grooved, furrowed, ornamented," 1610s, past-participle adjective from flute (v.).

flautist (n.)

1827, from Italian flautista, from flauto "flute" (from Late Latin flauta; see flute (n.)) + Greek-derived suffix -ista.

flutist (n.)

c. 1600, probably from French flûtiste (see flute (n.) + -ist); replaced Middle English flouter (early 13c., from Old French flauteor) and is preferred in U.S. The British preference is flautist (q.v.), a Continental reborrowing that returns the original diphthong.

piccolo (n.)

"small flute sounding an octave higher than the ordinary flute," 1830, from piccolo flute (1809), from French piccolo, from Italian flauto piccolo "small flute," from piccolo "small," perhaps a children's made-up word, or from picca "point," or from Vulgar Latin root *pikk- "little," related to *piccare "to pierce" (see pike (n.1)). Other sources suggest it is from the same source as French petit (see petit (adj.)).

The Octave Flute is frequently miscalled a Piccolo, whereas it is merely an octave higher in pitch than the concert flute, and is very effective in brilliant full pieces. ["On Flutes and Piccolos," in The Harmonicon, 1830]

carol (n.)

c. 1300, "joyful song," also a kind of dance in a ring, from Old French carole "kind of dance in a ring, round dance accompanied by singers," a word of uncertain origin. Perhaps from Medieval Latin choraula "a dance to the flute," from Latin choraules "flute-player," from Greek khoraules "flute player who accompanies the choral dance," from khoros "chorus" (see chorus) + aulein "to play the flute," from aulos "reed instrument" (see alveolus). OED writes that "a Celtic origin is out of the question." The meaning "Christmas hymn of joy" is attested from c. 1500.

flout (v.)

"treat with disdain or contempt" (transitive), 1550s, intransitive sense "mock, jeer, scoff" is from 1570s; of uncertain origin; perhaps a special use of Middle English flowten "to play the flute" (compare Middle Dutch fluyten "to play the flute," also "to jeer"). Related: Flouted; flouting.

striate (v.)

1670s, from special modern use of Latin striatus, past participle of striare "to groove, to flute," from Latin stria "furrow, channel, flute of a column" (in Modern Latin "strip, streak"), possibly from PIE root *strig- "to stroke, rub, press" (see strigil). Related: Striated (1640s); striating.

stria (n.)

plural striae, "narrow stripe, groove," 1560s, from Latin stria "a furrow, flute of a column" (see striate).

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