Music. a valved wind instrument of the trumpet family.
a small cone of paper twisted at the end and used for holding candy, nuts, etc.
a pastry cone, usually filled with whipped cream.
British. a conical wafer, as for ice cream; cone.
a large, white, winged headdress formerly worn by the members of the Sisters of Charity.
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.
a pennant or flag used for signaling in a navy.
(formerly) the officer who carried the colors in a troop of cavalry: the cornet of horse.
Origin of cornet
1325–75;Middle English < Middle French,Old French, equivalent to cornhorn (< Latincornū; see cornu) + -et-et
Also called: cornet à pistons (ˈkɔːnɪt ə ˈpɪstənz, Frenchkɔrnɛ a pistɔ̃) 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
c.1400, "A wind instrument made of wood and provided with six finger holes" [Middle English Dictionary], from Old French cornet (14c.) "a small horn," diminutive of corn "a horn," from Latin cornu "horn" (see horn (n.)). Modern use is short for cornet-à-pistons "cornet with pistons."
The quality of the tone is penetrating and unsympathetic, by no means equal to that of the trumpet, for which it is commonly substituted. ["cornet" entry in "Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia," 1902]
