Saxophone
/ˈsæk.sə.foʊn/noun
A musical instrument with a single-reed mouthpiece and a curved metal body, used especially in jazz and marching bands.
Did you know?The saxophone was invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s, and its name was coined from his surname plus the Greek-derived French suffix -phone, meaning “sound” or “voice.”
Etymological Timeline
1840s
French
saxophone
“A newly coined name for Sax’s wind instrument”
1846
French
saxophone
“Adolphe Sax’s patented family of metal woodwind instruments”
19th Century
French/English
-phone
“A suffix meaning sound or voice, from Greek phōnē”
Old English
Old English
Seaxe
“The Saxons, a Germanic people whose name likely meant “knife” or “sword””
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*sahsą
“A knife, short sword, or cutting blade”