See Also: flute(1)(dictionary)
flute(2)(dictionary)
flute(dictionary)
flute(encyclopedia)
flute(dictionary)
flute instability(medicine)
suabe flute(dictionary)

decongest (iou) and flute (sh)


decongest (iou)



decongest verb trans. M20.
[Back-form. from DECONGESTION.]
Relieve the congestion of; esp. ease the flow of traffic etc. in or through (a place).

flute (sh)




Woodwind instrument in which the sound is produced by blowing against a sharp edge.

In its broad sense, a flute may be end-blown, like the recorder, or may have a globular shape, like the ocarina. In its narrow sense, discussed below, flute refers to the transverse flute of Western Music. The transverse flute, a tubular instrument held sideways to the right, appeared in Greece and Etruria by the 2nd century BC. By the 16th century a family of boxwood flutes, with fingerholes but no keys, was in use in Europe. Keys began to be added in the late 17th century. Theobald Boehm's 19th-century innovations resulted in the modern flute, which permits thorough expressive control and great agility. The cylindrical tube may be made of wood or, more often, a precious metal or alloy. Its range is from about middle C to the C three octaves higher. The flute family includes the piccolo (pitched an octave higher), the alto flute, and the rare bass flute. See also shakuhachi.