clarinet

Meaning

Noun

• A woodwind musical instrument that has a distinctive liquid tone whose characteristics vary among its three registers: chalumeau (low), clarion (medium), and altissimo (high).

Origin

• Borrowed from Italian clarinetto, diminutive of clarino (as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet).
• Alternatively, the word may come from French clarinette, diminutive form of clarine, from clarin, from clair.