Cornett

Cornett [OFr. cornette, dim. of Lat. cornu, horn] (Fr.: cornet à bouquin; Ger.: Zink; It.: cornetto; Sp.: corneta), obs. wind instr. derived from an animal horn, pierced with fingerholes and played with a cup mouthpiece. Its correct Engl. name, “cornet” (first mentioned ca. 1400 in the Morte d'Arthure), having been bestowed on a modern brass instr., the word is nowadays customarily written “cornett.” Two kinds of cornetts existed: straight and curved, and the *straight cornetts were subdivided…