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Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

fife en · NOUN · etymology 1

Pronunciation

  • /ˈfaɪf/
  • (Southern-England) audio

Etymology

From German Pfeife (“whistle, smoking pipe”). Doublet of pipe.

Meanings

  1. A small shrill pipe, resembling the piccolo flute, used chiefly to accompany the drum in military music

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
fifes Number=Plur lexicographic

Deriveds

fife major · fifer · fife-rail

Translations (34)

ca pifre (small shrill pipe) · de Pfeife (small shrill pipe) · it fiffaro (small shrill pipe) · ja 横笛 (small shrill pipe) · es pífano (small shrill pipe) · ast pínfanu (small shrill pipe) · gl pífaro (small shrill pipe) · cmn 橫笛 /横笛 (small shrill pipe) · br pif (small shrill pipe) · cy pib feinlais (small shrill pipe) · tl tipano (small shrill pipe) · gl pínfano (small shrill pipe) · cmn(small shrill pipe) · pt pífaro (small shrill pipe) · bg пикола (small shrill pipe) · de Schwegel (small shrill pipe) · fr fifre (small shrill pipe) · pt pífano (small shrill pipe) · cy cadbib (small shrill pipe) · it piffero (small shrill pipe) · hy թութակ (small shrill pipe) · da marchfløjte (small shrill pipe) · cy chwibanogl (small shrill pipe) · nrf pifre (small shrill pipe) · sv fältpipa (small shrill pipe) · tr fifre (small shrill pipe) · cy ffeiff (small shrill pipe) · pt pife (small shrill pipe) · fi fife (small shrill pipe) · ga fíf (small shrill pipe) · oc pifre (small shrill pipe) · ru ду́дка (small shrill pipe) · io fifro (small shrill pipe) · kk сыбызғы (small shrill pipe)

fife en · VERB · etymology 1

Pronunciation

  • /ˈfaɪf/
  • (Southern-England) audio

Etymology

From German Pfeife (“whistle, smoking pipe”). Doublet of pipe.

Meanings

  1. To play this instrument.

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
fifed Tense=Past, VerbForm=Part lexicographic
fifed Tense=Past lexicographic
fifes Number=Sing, Person=3, Tense=Pres lexicographic
fifing Tense=Pres, VerbForm=Part lexicographic

fife en · NUM · etymology 2

Pronunciation

  • /ˈfaɪf/
  • (Southern-England) audio

Meanings

  1. Used instead of five in radio communications, especially NATO and ICAO, to avoid confusion with fire or nine.
    • “Change course to two fife zero and reduce height to fifteen hundred feet.” That “fife,” thought Alan, sounded very affected; but it had a good survival value in a noisy background. 1963, Arthur C Clarke, chapter 6, in Glidepath, New York: Simon and Schuster, page 66:

Relateds

niner