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panpipe

panpipe

1 7.5
A set of tubes of different lengths that you blow across to make music
  • noun
  • /ˈpænˌpaɪp/
translation icon : zampoña
  • Joe watched for the gardener as she carved a crude set of panpipes, lashing them together with strips of reed.
  • panpipe ensemble

Examples

  • Out of the silence in the Performing Arts Center came the sounds of panpipes and the hollow, goatskin drums known by the Andean people as "bombos."

    Blog text (8)
  • His contribution to the scene is music: he plays a set of panpipes.

    Academic text (2012)
  • If you boys listen real careful, you can hear the panpipes of the little people in the grass there.

  • The Mexican knife sharpener has a little panpipe that he plays a special tune on.

    Blog text (4)
  • A silver-bearded man played the panpipes.

    Blog text (10)
  • There was panpipe music, Indian drums, and an all-too-willing suspension of disbelief.

    Fiction book (1999)
  • The musician played the panpipe, enchanting the audience with its melodic tones.

  • During the festival, a group of performers entertained us with their skillful panpipe music.

  • As the sun set, the gentle sound of the panpipe filled the air, creating a peaceful atmosphere.

Synonyms

woodwind
vspanpipe
3 4.2

An instrument that makes sound when you blow into or across it, like a flute

is narrower; it names one particular simple tube set rather than the whole family
wind instrument
vspanpipe
1 3.1

An instrument that makes sound when you blow air through it, like a flute or trumpet

is narrower, referring to a small bound tube set rather than any air instrument
1 3.6

A musical instrument that makes sound when you blow air, often using a reed, like a clarinet or oboe

is narrower, focusing on simple open tubes rather than reed mechanisms
syrinx
vspanpipe
9.9

A wind instrument made of pipes of different lengths tied together

is the common everyday name for this same tube set
pandean pipe
vspanpipe
  • Archaic
9.9

A set of pipes of different lengths tied together that you play by blowing across the tops

is the simpler general term used for that set of tubes

Surface Forms

panpipe singular
panpipes plural

Morphology

panpipe = Pan + pipe (semi-transparent) = pan + pipe

The element 'pipe' is transparent, but 'Pan' is a proper name referring to a mythological figure, so the full meaning may not be deducible for learners unfamiliar with the reference.

Etymology

The word panpipe comes from the name Pan, the Greek god of 'nature', and the common word pipe, a 'tube' you blow into. Because Pan was often shown playing several joined tubes, a panpipe is the group of tubes you blow across to make music, so the name fits the instrument's shape and sound.