Meanings
plural German flutes
- historicalentertainmentA transverse flute.First known use 18th c.
One of the gentlemen played on the violin, and the other on the german-flute.
1788, Mary Wollstonecraft, Mary: A Fiction1 more example
He had made great progress in the gymnastic sciences of dancing, fencing and riding, played perfectly well on the German flute, and above all things valued himself upon a scrupulous observance of all the points of honour.
1751, [Tobias] Smollett, The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle […], volume (please specify |volume=I to IV), London: Harrison and Co., […], →OCLC
Origin
From German + flute, likely because it originated in Germany.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
German Traversflöte
- TraversflöteTranslations
Cite this entry
German flute. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/German%20flute
“German flute.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/German%20flute. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “German flute,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/German%20flute.
Source: German flute on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.