bassoon

[ ba-soon, buh- ]

/ bæˈsun, bə- /

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noun

a large woodwind instrument of low range, with a doubled tube and a curved metal crook to which a double reed is attached.

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Origin of bassoon

1720–30; <French basson<Italian bassone (bass(o) low (see base²) + -one augmentative suffix)

OTHER WORDS FROM bassoon

bas·soon·ist, noun

Words nearby bassoon

Bassini's operation, bassist, basso, basso cantante, basso continuo, bassoon, basso profundo, basso-relievo, basso rilievo, bass reflex, bass response

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use bassoon in a sentence

And he played, with variations, an imaginary tune On the buttons of his waistcoat, like a jocular bassoon.
The Book of Humorous Verse|Various
Grandfather Tootle, the bassoon, spends his time in dozing: all you can hear from him is an occasional snore.
Bizarre|Lawton Mackall
Had there been a wedding guest present, he would hardly have repined in not being able to obey the summons of the loud bassoon.
Charles Dickens as a Reader|Charles Kent
Mhler remembered that at one of the general rehearsals the third bassoon was absent; at which Beethoven fretted and fumed.
The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven, Volume II (of 3)|Alexander Wheelock Thayer

It was told by Mittag, a bassoon player who had taken part in a performance of the Septet at a concert on December 11.
The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven, Volume III (of 3)|Alexander Wheelock Thayer

British Dictionary definitions for bassoon

bassoon

/ (bəˈsuːn) /

noun

a woodwind instrument, the tenor of the oboe family. Range: about three and a half octaves upwards from the B flat below the bass staff

an orchestral musician who plays the bassoon

Derived forms of bassoon

bassoonist, noun

Word Origin for bassoon

C18: from French basson, from Italian bassone, from basso deep; see base ²

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Cultural definitions for bassoon

bassoon

The second largest and second lowest pitched of the woodwinds. (The less common contrabassoon is larger and has a lower pitch.) It is played with a double reed.