English horn

American  

noun

1. a large oboe, a fifth lower in pitch than the ordinary oboe, having a pear-shaped bell and producing a mellow tone.

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English horn British  

noun

1. music another name for cor anglais

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Etymology

Origin of English horn

First recorded in 1830–40

Compare meaning

How does english-horn compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• English horn vs. French horn

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

English horn

Pedro R. Díaz played the haunting English horn solos—in costume in the tunnel—embodying the lifelong mourning that torments Tristan.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 11, 2026

Kathryn Meany Wilson gave a beautiful solo on English horn — tracing the path of a plane through darkness.

From Washington Post ● Nov. 11, 2022

Kudos to them all, particularly to the eloquent English horn of Stefan Farkas, whose solo passages added so much to the atmosphere of longing and heartbreak.

From Seattle Times ● Oct. 17, 2022

For the duck, there’s oboe and English horn.

From New York Times ● Jun. 5, 2022

It adds to the usual instruments only the piccolo, the English horn, the tambourine, and triangle and cymbals.

From Contemporary American Composers Being a Study of the Music of This Country, Its Present Conditions and Its Future, with Critical Estimates and Biographies of the Principal Living Composers; and an Abundance of Portraits, Fac-simile Musical Autographs, and Compositions by Rupert Hughes