saxophone - Wiktionary, the free dictionary (original) (raw)

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

An alto saxophone.

Borrowed from French saxophone, a combination of the surname of its inventor Adolphe Sax (1814–1894) + -o- + -phone (“something that makes a sound”), from Ancient Greek φωνή (phōnḗ, “sound, voice”). The first element surname is a variant of the German Sachs (“Saxon”). Analyzable as Sax +‎ -o- +‎ -phone.

saxophone (plural saxophones)

  1. A single-reed instrument musical instrument of the woodwind family, usually made of brass and with a distinctive loop bringing the bell upwards.
    Synonyms: sax, gobble-pipe, saxomaphone
    I played the saxophone in high school.
  2. Someone who plays the saxophone; a saxophonist.
    The saxophones typically sit behind the flutes in a concert band.

a musical instrument of the woodwind family

saxophone (third-person singular simple present saxophones, present participle saxophoning, simple past and past participle saxophoned)

  1. To play the saxophone.

Sax +‎ -o- +‎ -phone. Named after Adolphe Sax (1814–1894), its inventor.

saxophone m (plural saxophones)

  1. saxophone

saxophone

  1. inflection of saxophoner:
    1. first/third-person singular present indicative/subjunctive
    2. second-person singular imperative