hautboy
pronunciation
How to pronounce hautboy in British English:
UK ['həʊbɔɪ]
How to pronounce hautboy in American English:
US ['hoʊˌbɔɪ]
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- Noun:
- a slender double-reed instrument; a woodwind with a conical bore and a double-reed mouthpiece
Word Origin
- hautboy (n.)
- "oboe, double-reeded woodwind instrument," 1570s, from French hautbois "high wood" (15c.; see oboe, which is the Italian phonetic spelling of the French word). The haut is used here in its secondary sense of "high-pitched." In early use frequently nativized as hoboy, hawboy, etc.This Pageaunt waz clozd vp with a delectable harmony of Hautboiz, Shalmz, Coronets, and such oother looud muzik. [Robert Laneham, 1575]