Cornett

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A historical wind instrument similar to a trumpet, typically made of wood and covered in leather, used chiefly in Renaissance and Baroque music; a term for a musician who plays this instrument; also refers to a curved horn-like object or companion device in musical contexts
2. A brass or wooden instrument with finger holes and cup mouthpiece, prominent in early music ensembles from the 16th to 17th centuries; a performer skilled in playing it; sometimes used to denote a small curved horn or related musical tool
3. An early brass-type wind instrument featuring a slender curved shape and a detachable mouthpiece, popular in past centuries for ceremonial and orchestral purposes; a player of this instrument; occasionally denotes a horn-shaped musical accessory or variant

Etymology: The cornett is a wind instrument with a wooden body and finger holes, played through a mouthpiece that is often covered in leather, and it was a staple of Renaissance and early Baroque music. Its name comes from Old French "cornet," a diminutive of "corne," meaning "horn," which in turn descends from Latin "cornū." The name is a small joke of sorts: the instrument is a little horn, though it is made of wood rather than animal horn or metal. The word is therefore a diminutive, formed by adding a suffix to a base word, so its literal sense is "little horn." Many other English instruments and objects with the "-et" or "-ette" ending follow the same pattern of naming something by its size relative to a larger, more familiar object.

Synonyms: cornetto, cornet, wind instrument, brass instrument