What does hautbois mean?
A hautbois is a double-reed woodwind instrument, most commonly understood today as the oboe. The word has a literary or historical flavor in modern English, so a writer may choose it when evoking period music, an old painting, or a deliberately traditional style. In earlier usage, however, hautbois was broader: it could name any of a family of high-register reed instruments, including related forms ancestral to the oboe and the shawm. A hautbois is played by blowing through a double reed, which produces its penetrating tone by vibrating two thin blades of cane. The name comes from French hautbois, literally “high wood,” with haut meaning “high” and bois meaning “wood.” This etymology reflects the instrument’s high pitch and wooden construction. The name is worth knowing not only because it connects directly with the history of the oboe, but also because it preserves a characteristic English vocabulary pattern: adopting a French musical term while retaining an older sense that later became more specialized.
nounA double-reed woodwind instrument, especially the oboe. In historical contexts, it can refer more broadly to any of a family of high-pitched reed instruments.
- The oboe, especially when using the more literary or historical name.
- Any of various historical high-pitched double-reed instruments, including instruments related to the shawm and oboe.
"The hautbois soloist accompanied the procession through the old town."
"She studied the hautbois at the conservatory before switching to the clarinet."
"A musician in the painting holds a hautbois, an ancestor of the modern oboe."
The standard plural adds -es.
"Two hautboises were placed on stands before the rehearsal."
Hautbois literally means “high wood” in French: a high-pitched instrument made of wood.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of hautbois
Hautbois entered English from French in the 16th century. French hautbois literally means “high wood,” formed from haut, “high,” and bois, “wood,” and originally referred to high-pitched double-reed instruments. The related English name oboe also comes through French from the same French word, while the English meaning of hautbois later became more closely associated with the oboe.
How hautbois is actually used
In present-day English, hautbois has a literary, archaic, or specialist tone and is much less common than oboe. Historical descriptions may use it for several kinds of early double-reed instruments rather than for the oboe alone.
Easily confused with hautbois
Hautboy is a variant spelling of hautbois rather than a distinct instrument or meaning.