Pronunciation : O"boe
Part of Speech : n.
Etymology : [It., fr. F. hautbois. See Hautboy.] (Mus.)
Definition : Defn: One of the higher wind instruments in the modern orchestra, yet of great antiquity, having a penetrating pastoral quality of tone, somewhat like the clarinet in form, but more slender, and sounded by means of a double reed; a hautboy. Oboe d'amore Etym: [It., lit., oboe of love], and Oboe di caccia Etym: [It., lit., oboe of the chase], are names of obsolete modifications of the oboe, often found in the scores of Bach and Handel.
Source : Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913