n. A small terra-cotta or plastic wind instrument with finger holes, a mouthpiece, and an elongated ovoid shape. [Italian, from dialectal ucarenna, diminutive of Italian oca, goose (from the fact that its mouthpiece is shaped like a goose's beak), from Vulgar Latin *auca, from *avica, from Latin avis, bird; see awi- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.] (click for a larger image) ocarina |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.