bugle

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a simple brass instrument, usually without valves, used especially for military signals

   The bugle sounded a retreat across the battlefield.

2. 2
   verb

   to play a bugle or give a signal on one

   The soldier bugled the morning call before sunrise.

3. 3
   noun

   a long tubular bead sewn onto clothing as decoration

   Black bugles glittered along the edge of the evening dress.

4. 4
   noun

   a low-growing plant of the genus Ajuga, often grown as ground cover

   Blue bugle spread between the stones in the garden.

Appears in

Simplified etymology

Bugle originally meant “wild ox” and came through Old French from Latin būculus “little ox,” from bōs “ox.” The compound bugle-horn denoted an ox horn used to give signals, originally during hunting.

The instrument name comes through Old French bugle, 'wild ox,' from Latin buculus, because early signal horns were made from horn. The plant name is a separate Middle English borrowing, probably from Medieval Latin bugula.

Topics

External links

• Google Images
• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary