French horn

noun

1. a musical brass wind instrument with a long, coiled tube having a conical bore and a flaring bell.

French horn

noun

1. music a valved brass instrument with a funnel-shaped mouthpiece and a tube of conical bore coiled into a spiral. It is a transposing instrument in F. Range: about three and a half octaves upwards from B on the second leger line below the bass staff See horn

French horn

1. A mellow-sounding brass instrument, pitched lower than a trumpet and higher than a tuba .

Word History and Origins

Origin of French horn¹

First recorded in 1735–45

Example Sentences

But his father brought his son's beloved French horn to his bedside.

From BBC

To the human ear, the hum might sound like a single note on a French horn or a foghorn.

From Science Daily

Mr. Ruff, who was also a bassist, played both bass and French horn in the duo he formed with the pianist Dwike Mitchell in 1955, which lasted until Mr. Mitchell’s death in 2013.

From New York Times

He played the French horn in various military bands, eventually taking up a role in the Band of the Grenadier Guards.

From BBC

Many movements were beautiful, led by French horns and harp, while other passages had a just-askew musical logic.

From Los Angeles Times