piccolo

/ˌpɪkəˈloʊ/

/ˈpɪkələʊ/

Other forms: piccolos

Many orchestras include a piccolo, which is a small, high-pitched flute.

The word piccolo is in the fairly extensive group of Italian words that designate musical instruments and other musical terms. A piccolo is a small flute that plays an octave higher than an ordinary one; the word comes, appropriately enough, from the Italian for "small," which is also piccolo.

Definitions of piccolo

1. noun

   a small flute; pitched an octave above the standard flute
   type of:

   flute, transverse flute

   a high-pitched woodwind instrument; a slender tube closed at one end with finger holes on one end and an opening near the closed end across which the breath is blown