HAUTBOY, a musical instrument of the wind kind, shaped much like the lute; only that it spreads and widens towards the bottom, and is sounded thro' a reed. The treble is two feet long; the tenor goes a fifth lower, when blown open: it has only eight holes; but the bass, which is five feet long, has eleven.
The word is French, haut bois, q. d. high wood; and is given to this instrument because the tone of it is higher than that of the violin.