Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A small French bagpipe operated with a bellows and having a soft sound.
  • noun A soft pastoral air that imitates bagpipe music.
  • noun A small canvas or leather bag with a shoulder strap, as one used by soldiers or travelers.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A small and simple variety of oboe.
  • noun A form of bagpipe once very popular in France, having a compass of from ten to thirteen tones.
  • noun A quiet pastoral melody, usually with a drone-bass, written in imitation of a bagpipe tune: often introduced as one of the parts of the old-fashioned suite, especially as a contrast to the gavotte.
  • noun Same as schalmei, 4.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun A small bagpipe formerly in use, having a soft and sweet tone.
  • noun An air adapted to this instrument; also, a kind of rustic dance.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun music A small bagpipe with a bellows, having a soft sound, and once popular in France.
  • noun A dance tune or pastoral air that imitates this instrument.
  • noun A small bag or knapsack, with a shoulder strap, used by soldiers, student, tourists, etc., containing food or other things.
  • noun A small instrument similar to an oboe or shawm.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a small bagpipe formerly popular in France

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English, from Old French, diminutive of muse, from muser, to play the musette, muse; see muse.]

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Examples

  • Lance Armstong’s encounter with a fan’s musette is rumored to have broken his chainstay.

    Ask Nick: Questions about classics gear, crashes on carbon bikes and lined-up handlebars 2010

  • The chief characteristic of the musette was a certain rustic Watteau-like grace.

    Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 3, Part 1, Slice 2 "Baconthorpe" to "Bankruptcy" Various

  • For anyone with a penchant for the traditional accordion based Parisian music known as musette and the unique song style of the French music hall,

    CathNews 2009

  • For anyone with a penchant for the traditional accordion based Parisian music known as musette and the unique song style of the French music hall,

    CathNews 2009

  • For anyone with a penchant for the traditional accordion based Parisian music known as musette and the unique song style of the French music hall,

    CathNews 2009

  • For anyone with a penchant for the traditional accordion based Parisian music known as musette and the unique song style of the French music hall,

    CathNews 2009

  • For anyone with a penchant for the traditional accordion based Parisian music known as musette and the unique song style of the French music hall,

    CathNews 2009

  • For anyone with a penchant for the traditional accordion based Parisian music known as musette and the unique song style of the French music hall,

    CathNews 2009

  • For anyone with a penchant for the traditional accordion based Parisian music known as musette and the unique song style of the French music hall,

    CathNews 2009

  • The bunch pick up their feed bags, known as a "musette".

    BBC News | News Front Page | World Edition 2010

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