tubae

Noun (1)

tuba (plural tubas)

1. A large brass musical instrument, usually in the bass range, played through a vibration of the lips upon the mouthpiece and fingering of the keys.
   • One version of the large tuba, popular in marching bands, is called a sousaphone in honor of bandsman John Philip Sousa.1990, Thomas D. Rossing, The Science of Sound, page 230
2. A large reed stop in organs.

Noun (2)

tuba (plural tubas or tubae)

1. A tube or tubular organ.
   • Compared with skulls of darwini, skulls of andium are smaller with shorter tooth rows (fig. 13), have less globular bullae that taper more gradually to the tubae, and a shorter, proportionately narrower rostrum with nasals usually relatively blunt behind and seldom projecting posteriorly far behind...1958, Oliver P[ayne] Pearson, “Phyllotis andium”, in A Taxonomic Revision of the Rodent Genus Phyllotis (University of California Publications in Zoology; volume 56, number 4), Berkeley, Calif....
2. A type of Roman military trumpet, distinct from the modern tuba.
   • From the eleventh century onwards, the trumpets, which had till then been modelled on the Roman tubae with their straightforward and somewhat rough sound, began to grow longer and thinner as their bells widened.1968, Roger Bragard, Ferdinand J[oseph] de Hen, translated by Bill Hopkins, “Wind Instruments”, in Musical Instruments in Art and History (A Studio Book), New York, N.Y.: Viking Press, →LCCN, →OCLC...

Noun (3)

tuba (uncountable)

1. A Malayan plant whose roots are a significant source of rotenone, Derris malaccensis.

Noun (4)

tuba (uncountable)

1. (Philippines) A reddish palm wine made from coconut or nipa sap.

See all 7 meanings of tuba