ophicleide

[of-i-klahyd]

noun

a musical wind instrument, a development of the old wooden serpent, consisting of a conical metal tube bent double.

Origin of ophicleide

1825–35; < French ophicléide < Greek óphi(s) serpent + kleid- (stem of kleís) key (akin to Latin clavis; see clavicle)

Related formsoph·i·clei·de·an, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for ophicleide

Historical Examples of ophicleide

Neither saxophone nor ophicleide was necessary for him to fill the soul with awe.
The Pianolist
Gustav Kobb
Those who played the trombone and the ophicleide blew till their thick lips swelled, and seemed to cover up the mouthpieces.
Brought Forward
R. B. Cunninghame Graham
Originally these tones were played by the Ophicleide or Serpent (now obsolete).
Music: An Art and a Language
Walter Raymond Spalding
Ophicleide, of′i-klīd, n. a large bass trumpet, with a deep pitch.
Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 3 of 4: N-R)
Various
Those which give out the fundamental tone and harmonics up to the eighth, such as the tubas and ophicleide.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 4, Part 3
Various

British Dictionary definitions for ophicleide

ophicleide

noun

music an obsolete keyed wind instrument of bass pitch

Word Origin for ophicleide

C19: from French ophiclēide, from Greek ophis snake + kleis key

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