Aerophonic

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Concerning the generation of sound through air movement in musical instruments
2. Referring to acoustic phenomena resulting from the vibration of air in various contexts
3. Pertaining to sounds created by the movement or oscillation of air in instruments or devices

Etymology: "Aerophonic" is a plain formation: the adjective "aerophone" with the adjective-forming suffix "-ic" attached. The noun "aerophone" joins the Greek "aēr", meaning air, with "phōnē", meaning sound or voice, so the pieces combine into something like "air-sound." The same building blocks appear in older English words such as "aerial" and "phonetic," which share the Greek roots. The term belongs to the scholarly classification of musical instruments. Aerophones are instruments whose sound is produced mainly by a column or stream of air set in motion, as in flutes, trumpets, and organs. The adjective simply describes that category, so "aerophonic" tells you the sound comes from air movement rather than from a vibrating string, membrane, or struck body.