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ocarina

 - 4 dictionary results

oc⋅a⋅ri⋅na

[ok-uh-ree-nuh]
–noun
a simple musical wind instrument shaped somewhat like an elongated egg with a mouthpiece and finger holes.
Also called sweet potato.


Origin:
< It, orig. dial. (Emilia), dim. of oca goose (< LL auca, contr. of *avica, deriv. of L avis bird), so called from the instrument's shape; appar. the name given to it by Giuseppe Donati of Budrio, near Bologna, who popularized a ceramic version c1860


oc⋅a⋅ri⋅nist, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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oc·a·ri·na   (ŏk'ə-rē'nə)   


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n.  A small terra-cotta or plastic wind instrument with finger holes, a mouthpiece, and an elongated ovoid shape.

[Italian, from dialectal ucarenna, diminutive of Italian oca, goose (from the fact that its mouthpiece is shaped like a goose's beak), from Vulgar Latin *auca, from *avica, from Latin avis, bird; see awi- in Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

ocarina 
1877, from It. ocarina, dim. of oca "goose" (so called for its shape), from V.L. *auca, from L. avicula "small bird," dim. of avis "bird" (see aviary).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Encyclopedia

ocarina

globularglobular flute, a late 19th-century musical development of traditional Italian carnival whistles of earthenware, often bird-shaped and sounding only one or two notes. It is an egg-shaped vessel of clay or metal or, as a toy, of plastic and is sounded on the flageolet, or fipple flute, principle. It usually has eight finger holes and two thumbholes and may have a tuning plunger.

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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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