Etymology Explorer › English

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

  1. A single-reed instrument musical instrument of...

Ancestry of “saxophone”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Frenchsaxophonesaxophone; first-person singular present...
2French-phonespeaker of a specific language; something that...
3Ancient Greekφωνήsound; Usually of the human voice: voice, cry,...
4Proto-Hellenicpʰōnā́—
5Proto-Indo-Europeanbʰoh₂-néh₂—
6Proto-Indo-Europeanbʰeh₂-to shine, glow light; to speak, say
7Proto-Indo-Europeanbʰeh₂-s-ri-—

Words derived from “saxophone”

  • saxophonist
  • saxophonic
  • saxophonelike
  • saxophony
  • 色士風
  • 薩克斯風
  • サクソフォン
  • サキソホン
  • サクソフォーン
Every word from Proto-Indo-European bʰeh₂-s-ri- →