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A small, shrill flute, the pitch of which is an octave higher than the ordinary flute; an octave flute.

A small shrill pipe, resembling the piccolo flute, used chiefly to accompany the drum in military music. Fife major (Mil.), a noncommissioned officer who superintends the fifers of a regiment. -- Fife rail. (Naut.) (a) A rail about the mast, at the deck, to hold belaying pins, etc. (b) A railing around the break of a…

les, and a mouthpiece inserted at one end. It produces a shrill sound, softer than of the piccolo flute, and is said to have superseded the old recorder. Flageolet tones (Mus.), the naturel harmonics or overtones of stringed instruments.

A flute. Flaute piccolo ( Etym: [It., little flute], an octave flute. -- Flauto traverso ( Etym: [It., transverse flute], the German flute, held laterally, instead of being played, like the old flûte a bec, with a mouth piece at the end.

f which range an octave higher than those of the German or ordinary flute; -- called also piccolo. See Piccolo.