a wind instrument used in the Swiss Alps, consisting of a very long tube of wood or bark with a cornet-like mouthpiece
Word origin
C19: from German Alpenhorn Alps horn
alphorn in American English
(ˈælpˌhɔrn)
noun
a curved, wooden, powerful-sounding horn, from five to twelve or more feet long, used by Swiss Alpine herdsmen for signaling: it is sometimes used in orchestral scores