hornpipe

[ hawrn-pahyp ]

noun

1. an English folk clarinet having one ox horn concealing the reed and another forming the bell.
2. a lively jiglike dance, originally to music played on a hornpipe, performed usually by one person, and traditionally a favorite of sailors.
3. a piece of music for or in the style of such a dance.

hornpipe

/ ˈhɔːnˌpaɪp /

noun

1. an obsolete reed instrument with a mouthpiece made of horn
2. an old British solo dance to a hornpipe accompaniment, traditionally performed by sailors
3. a piece of music for such a dance

Word History and Origins

Origin of hornpipe¹

1350–1400; Middle English. See horn, pipe ¹

Example Sentences

She added that the group’s “wild jigs and reels, impish hornpipes and raucous slides” helped dispel the myth that Irish music was little more than songs like “MacNamara’s Band” and “Danny Boy.”

From Washington Post

As different groupings of dancers come and go, marking the hornpipe music with some maritime motions, rumpling Baroque grace with hip bumps and air kisses, other dancers pass in front or behind.

From New York Times

“This here is a hornpipe called ‘The Blackbird,’” he explains.

From New York Times

It also did contemporary jigs, hornpipes, and polkas.

From The New Yorker

It attracted fiddlers and flute players who, yes, played Irish reels, jigs, waltzes, and hornpipes, but who also played those Appalachian tunes, old and beautiful like rare apple varieties or wildflowers.

From The New Yorker