Flute
The flute in five languages — flute, flauto, Flöte, flûte
Related
Five languages
| Language | Name |
|---|---|
| Chinese | 长笛 |
| English | flute |
| Italian | flauto |
| German | Flöte |
| French | flûte |
In the orchestra, flute usually means the transverse flute, not the end-blown recorder. English flute comes from Latin flatus, "a blowing", and is the broadest word in the family: it can mean any wind instrument or specifically the modern transverse flute.
Watch out: the Chinese 长笛 stresses "long", but the defining feature is side-blown; German Blockflöte is the recorder and Querflöte the transverse flute — one root, two ways of blowing.
Read deeper → Flute
Sources
- 各语种乐器名与 flute 的词源，参 The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, "Flute"；本文为原创表述
Used for fact-checking only; all prose is original.