Shawm
/ʃɔːm/noun
A loud double-reed woodwind instrument, a medieval ancestor of the oboe.
Did you know?The English word comes through Old French and Medieval Latin from Arabic roots tied to reed-pipe instruments, showing how sacred, courtly, and military music all shared the same sonic lineage.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Semitic / Arabic
Arabic
zammāra
“a reed pipe or horn-like wind instrument”
Medieval Latin
ML
calamus / chalemia
“reed pipe; instrument name adapted in learned and musical contexts”
Old French
OF
chalemie
“a shawm or reed instrument”
Middle English
ME
shalm / shawm
“a loud double-reed wind instrument”
Modern English
English
shawm
“a medieval double-reed woodwind, ancestor of the oboe”