cornet
pronunciation
How to pronounce cornet in British English:
UK [ˈkɔ:nɪt]
How to pronounce cornet in American English:
US [ˈkɔrnɪt]
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- Noun:
- a brass musical instrument with a brilliant tone; has a narrow tube and a flared bell and is played by means of valves
Word Origin
- cornet (n.)
- c. 1400, "A wind instrument made of wood and provided with six finger holes" [Middle English Dictionary], from Old French cornet (14c.) "a small horn," diminutive of corn "a horn," from Latin cornu "horn," from PIE *ker- (1) "horn; head, uppermost part of the body" (see horn (n.)). Modern use is short for cornet-à-pistons "cornet with pistons." The quality of the tone is penetrating and unsympathetic, by no means equal to that of the trumpet, for which it is commonly substituted. ["cornet" entry in "Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia," 1902]
Example
- 1. I heard a cornet playing in leicester square .
- 2. An obsolete bass cornet ; resembles a snake .
- 3. He played the cornet in the school band .
- 4. The drunken little costdrawer and his brother , the cornet player .
- 5. Valved instrument whose range is a fifth lower than the cornet ; it consists of a curved conical tube and a large bell .