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Added 9 October 2026

saxophone

/ˈsæksəˌfəʊ̯n/ noun

In Latin: saxophonus Wiktionary

noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about saxophone at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

A single-reed woodwind with a conical bore.

Origin

Borrowed from French saxophone, a combination of the surname of its inventor Adolphe Sax (1814–1894) + -o- + -phone (“something that makes a sound”), from Ancient Greek φωνή (phōnḗ, “sound, voice”). The first element surname is a variant of the German Sachs (“Saxon”). Analyzable as Sax + -o- + -phone.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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