clarinet

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˌklæɹɪˈnɛt/, /ˌklɛɹɪˈnɛt/^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French clarinette,^{[2][3][4][5][6]} a diminutive of clarine “little bell; clarion”,^[3][4] the noun use of the feminine of Old French clarin, from cler “clear”,^[2][3][4][6] from Latin clārus (“clear”).^[2][4] It is related to clarion.^[2][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

The single-reed woodwind instrument (1733 in Merriam-Webster; 1768 in Etymonline; 1796 in the OED and Barnhart).^[5][4][7][3]

Semantic evolution

The instrument, a development of the medieval shawm, is said to have been invented about 1700 by J. C. Denner of Nuremberg, and was a recognized orchestral instrument from about 1775.^[4] A variant form clarionet is recorded from 1784.^[4] The name was also given to an organ stop with a clarinet-like tone (1876).^[7]

Timeline

• 1733 – Merriam-Webster's date.^[5]
• 1768 – Etymonline's date.^[4]
• 1784 – clarionet.^[4]
• 1796 – the OED's and Barnhart's first quotation.^[7][3]
• 1876 – an organ stop.^[7]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A woodwind instrument with a straight cylindrical tube, a flared bell and a single-reed mouthpiece, played with finger holes and keys.
2. An organ stop with a tone like that of the clarinet.

Word family

• clarinetist

Related words

• clarion
• clear
• oboe
• shawm

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
3. ^ a b c d e Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b c Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
7. ^ a b c d Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press