piccolo

[pik-uh-loh]

noun, plural pic·co·los.

a small flute sounding an octave higher than the ordinary flute.

Origin of piccolo

1855–60; < Italian: literally, small

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for piccolo

Contemporary Examples of piccolo

Piccolo was diagnosed with cancer in 1969 at the age of 25 and died less than a year later.
7 Great Football Flicks From Horse Feathers to Friday Night Lights
The Daily Beast
January 28, 2014

Historical Examples of piccolo

Get Piccolo to hook the boat and take Pony to the reservation.
The Flight of Pony Baker
W. D. Howells
"To me it sounds like a cross between a clarinet, a flute, and a piccolo," he smiled.
Frank Merriwell's Son
Burt L. Standish
Then he opened the bag, in which were sections of a flute and a piccolo.
Aaron's Rod
D. H. Lawrence
Then suddenly the piccolo broke forth, wild, shrill, brilliant.
Aaron's Rod
D. H. Lawrence
He almost hated the little handbag he carried, which held his flute and piccolo.
Aaron's Rod
D. H. Lawrence

British Dictionary definitions for piccolo

piccolo

noun plural -los

a woodwind instrument, the smallest member of the flute family, lying an octave above that of the fluteSee flute (def. 1)

Word Origin for piccolo

C19: from Italian: small; compare English petty, French petit

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

Word Origin and History for piccolo

1856, piccolo flute, from French piccolo, from Italian flauto piccolo "small flute," from piccolo "small," perhaps a children's made-up word, or from picca "point," or from Vulgar Latin root *pikk- "little," related to *piccare "to pierce" (see pike (n.2)). Other sources suggest it is from the same source as French petit (see petit (adj.)).

piccolo in Culture

piccolo

[(pik-uh-loh)]

A small, high-pitched flute.