Where does “saxophone” come from?
Saxophone comes from French saxophone, which was coined from the name of Adolphe Sax, the instrument's 19th-century Belgian inventor, combined with the Greek element -phone meaning sound.
saxophone (English): A single-reed instrument musical instrument of...
Definitions
- A single-reed instrument musical instrument of...
Ancestry of “saxophone”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | French | saxophone | saxophone; first-person singular present... |
| 2 | French | -phone | speaker of a specific language; something that... |
| 3 | Ancient Greek | φωνή | sound; Usually of the human voice: voice, cry,... |
| 4 | Proto-Hellenic | pʰōnā́ | — |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰoh₂-néh₂ | — |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰeh₂- | to shine, glow light; to speak, say |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰeh₂-s-ri- | — |