Word
fife
US/ˈfaɪf/
UK/fˈaɪf/
Definitions
01musical instrument
n. a small, high-pitched flute that people often play with drums in military parades.
n. a small, shrill transverse flute, similar to a piccolo, traditionally used in military and marching bands to accompany drums.
“The sound of the fife and drum could be heard from blocks away during the parade.”
“Historically, the fife was essential for signaling maneuvers on the battlefield because its high frequency could be heard above the din of combat.”
Technical
02place in Scotland
n. a historic area and council region in eastern Scotland.
n. a council area and former county of Scotland, situated on the east coast between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth.
“We spent the weekend visiting the historic fishing villages along the coast of Fife.”
“St Andrews, located in the northeast of Fife, is globally renowned as the home of golf and for its ancient university.”
British English
Synonyms
Real-World Examples
“Perhaps most notably, in 1942 Lomax met, near the small town of Senatobia, a blind multi-instrumentalist named Sid Hemphill , who, among his many skills, played the cane fife, a simple side-blown flute.” Etymology
Borrowed from Scottish Gaelic Fìobha, said to date back to the eponym Fib, one of the seven sons of the legendary Pictish king Cruithne. Possibly related to the Uip attested in the Pictish kings lists, in turn possibly related to the Latin Vepogenus, in which the first element is the Proto-Brythonic predecessor of Welsh gwep (“face”).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/fife