fife

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Sometimes he would come behind an unsuspecting boor, and give, close to his ear, a discordant bray from his trumpet, like the note of a jackass, which made him jump, and the crowd roar with merriment; or, perhaps, when the clarionet or the fife was engaged in giving the people a tune, he would drown either, or both of them, in a wild yell of his instrument.

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Definitions (9)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (3)

  1. noun A small, high-pitched, transverse flute used primarily to accompany drums in a military or marching band.
  2. intransitive verb To play a fife.
  3. transitive verb To perform (a piece or tune) on or as if on a fife.

Toggle Century definitions Century Dictionary (3)

Toggle GNU Webster definitions GNU Webster's 1913 (2)

Toggle WordNet definitions WordNet (1)

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Examples (50)

  • But this gift, this undeniable gift t the rock hovering, the unblown fife -- Well, it would be wrong to make too much of it, but probably it should not be discouraged. —  F ;SF; - vol 097 issue 04-05 - October-November 1999
  • He delivered lectures upon geography and astronomy: those who could play instruments, such as clarionet, fife, and violin, were stationed on the deck, while the rest marched in ranks. —  The History of Tasmania , Volume II
  • The drum and fife were the best they had known "at musters;" and they were good enough still, to fight by. —  Four Years in Rebel Capitals An Inside View of Life in the Southern Confederacy from Birth to Death
  • Sometimes he would come behind an unsuspecting boor, and give, close to his ear, a discordant bray from his trumpet, like the note of a jackass, which made him jump, and the crowd roar with merriment; or, perhaps, when the clarionet or the fife was engaged in giving the people a tune, he would drown either, or both of them, in a wild yell of his instrument. —  Handy Andy, Volume One A Tale of Irish Life, in Two Volumes
  • They found the drum and an old fife, and, slipping out of doors unnoticed by Mrs. Bates, soon stood behind a row of sandhills. —  Architects of Fate or, Steps to Success and Power
 

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Etymologies (3)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. Probably German Pfeife, from Middle High German pfīfe, from Old High German pfīffa, from Vulgar Latin *pīpa, from Latin pīpāre, to chirp.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (2)

  1. from Old French fifre, French fifre, a fife, also a fifer, = Spanish Portuguese pifaro, pifano, a fife, a fifer, = Italian piffero, also pifara, a fife, from Old High German pfīfa, Middle High German pfīfe, German pfeife, a pipe, = English pipe: see pipe, which is a doublet of fife.
  2. from fife, n.
 

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/faɪf/
by American Heritage

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