trumpet

Meanings

1. 1
   verb

   utter in trumpet-like sounds

   Elephants are trumpeting

2. 2
   verb

   proclaim on, or as if on, a trumpet

   Liberals like to trumpet their opposition to the death penalty

3. 3
   noun

   A musical instrument of the brass family, generally tuned to the key of B-flat; by extension, any type of lip-vibrated aerophone, most often valveless and not chromatic.

   The royal herald sounded a trumpet to announce their arrival.

4. 4
   noun

   Someone who plays the trumpet; a trumpeter.

   The trumpets were assigned to stand at the rear of the orchestra pit.

5. 5
   noun

   The cry of an elephant, or any similar loud cry.

   The large bull gave a basso trumpet as he charged the hunters.

6. 6
   noun

   One who praises, or propagates praise, or is the instrument of propagating it.

   I will the banner from a trumpet take

7. 7
   noun

   A kind of traffic interchange involving at least one loop ramp connecting traffic either entering or leaving the terminating expressway with the far lanes of the continuous highway.

   The result of adopting the latter principle would be that even unimportant T-junctions would be in the form of trumpets or half-cloverleaf junctions.

8. 8
   verb

   To sound loudly, be amplified

   The music trumpeted from the speakers, hurting my ears.

Etymology

From Middle English trumpet, trumpette, trompette (“trumpet”), from Old French trompette (“trumpet”), diminutive of trompe (“horn, trump, trumpet”), from Frankish *trumpa, *trumba (“trumpet”), ultimately imitative. Cognate with Old High German trumpa, trumba (“horn, trumpet”), Middle Dutch tromme (“drum”), Middle Low German trumme (“drum”), Old Norse trumba (“pipe; trumpet”). More at drum. Displaced native English beme, from Middle English beme, from Old English bīeme.