shawm
/ʃɔːm/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.18 in modern English
13
Scrabble Score
5
Letters
1
Syllables
5
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A mediaeval double-reed wind instrument with a conical wooden body.
Example Sentences
- "And all the field is thick with companies Of fair-clothed men that play on shawms and lutes And gather honey of the yellow fruits Between the branches waxen soft and wide"
- "There are four flutes, a harp of twenty strings, a mournful shawm, and a number of drums of oxhide, some to be struck, others spanked."
Etymology
From Middle English shalmuse, from Old French chalemel (modern French chalumeau), from Late Latin calamellus, from Latin calamus (“reed”), from Ancient Greek κάλαμος (kálamos). Doublet of caramel, chalumeau, and qalam, as well as related to calame, calamus, culm, and haulm.
Origin
Word Breakdown
Inflected Forms
Derived Forms
Phrases
Catalan shawm
still shawm