cornet

American  

[kawr-net, kawr-nit, kawr-net] / kɔrˈnɛt, ˈkɔr nɪt, kɔrˈnɛt /

noun

1. Music. a valved wind instrument of the trumpet family.

2. a small cone of paper twisted at the end and used for holding candy, nuts, etc.

3. a pastry cone, usually filled with whipped cream.

4. British. a conical wafer, as for ice cream; cone.

5. a large, white, winged headdress formerly worn by the members of the Sisters of Charity.

6. a woman's headdress, often cone-shaped, usually of delicate fabrics and having lappets of lace or other material, worn by women from the 14th to the 18th century.

7. a pennant or flag used for signaling in a navy.

8. (formerly) the officer who carried the colors in a troop of cavalry.

   the cornet of horse.

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cornet British  

/ ˈkɔːnɪt /

noun

1. Also called: cornet à pistons.  a three-valved brass instrument of the trumpet family. Written range: about two and a half octaves upwards from E below middle C. It is a transposing instrument in B flat or A

2. a person who plays the cornet

3. a variant spelling of cornett

4. a cone-shaped paper container for sweets, etc

5. a cone-shaped wafer container for ice cream

6. (formerly) the lowest rank of commissioned cavalry officer in the British army

7. short for field cornet

8. a starched and wired muslin or lace cap worn by women from the 12th to the 15th centuries

9. the large white headdress of some nuns

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Etymology

Origin of cornet

1325–75; Middle English < Middle French, Old French, equivalent to corn horn (< Latin cornū; see cornu) + -et -et

Explanation

A cornet is a brass instrument that looks like a smaller, wider trumpet. The cornet used to be a common feature of jazz bands, until it was replaced by the trumpet. The cornet sounds similar to a trumpet, but softer and mellower. This difference in tone or timbre is why a cornet can't usually be played as a substitute for a trumpet (or vice versa), even though they are played in the same way and at identical pitches. They simply sound different. The word cornet comes from the original cornet-à-pistons, or "cornet with valves," and the Latin cornu, "horn."

Example Sentences

Cornet was feted in a farewell ceremony afterward.

From Seattle Times • May 28, 2024

Cornet is clearly confused and conflicted as to what to do on her first Scotland start.

From BBC • Feb. 26, 2024

Brogan Hay and Hayley Lauder are also dropped while Chelsea Cornet, Jenna Clark and Kirsty Hanson make the starting lineup.

From BBC • Feb. 26, 2024

That belief was only extended with their starting front three of Danny Ings, Maxwel Cornet and Benrahma yet to score this campaign.

From BBC • Jan. 16, 2024

In other and more intelligible phrase, the tall Cornet of Hussars, whom this will introduce to you, is my eldest son, who is now just leaving me to join his regiment in Ireland.

From Memoirs of the Life of Sir Walter Scott, Volume 6 by Lockhart, J. G. (John Gibson)