shepherd's pipe
- noun
- As the sun set, the soft melody of the shepherd's pipe filled the valley, creating a peaceful atmosphere.
Examples
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They walk in beauty to the music of a shepherd's pipe.
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The sound of the shepherd's pipe echoed through the hills, guiding the sheep back home.
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During the festival, a musician played an enchanting tune on his shepherd's pipe, captivating everyone around.
Synonyms
A wind instrument with a bag and pipes played by blowing and squeezing
A small simple flute used in folk music
A set of tubes of different lengths that you blow across to make music
A small flute played by blowing air through the nose
A small French bagpipe used in folk music
A small wind instrument like a recorder with finger holes
A set of pipes of different lengths tied together that you play by blowing across the tops
A medium-sized wind instrument like a flute that plays notes between the tenor and soprano used in groups
A small wind instrument like a simple oboe used in French folk and classical music
An old wind instrument made from bone or horn with one reed
A metal or wooden instrument held sideways and played by blowing across a hole used in orchestras and bands
Surface Forms
Morphology
shepherd's + pipe
The phrase denotes a pipe belonging to or used by a shepherd; its meaning is directly built from 'shepherd's' (possessive) + 'pipe' (wind instrument), so a learner who knows both words can infer it refers to a simple instrument played by shepherds. This literal, compositional pattern is common cross-linguistically and follows standard possession/compound patterns, making it immediately comprehensible to B1 learners.
Etymology
Shepherd's pipe comes from the simple picture of a shepherd playing a small pipe or flute to call, calm, or entertain his sheep, and people began to call the instrument the shepherd's pipe. That's why it means 'a simple traditional wind instrument' often played by shepherds.