Any of various Italian woodwind instruments, especially one with a double reed.
Now usually applied to a small oboe played in the Abruzzi region, especially in the Christmas season. The word is also sometimes applied to flutes and bagpipes..
Origin
Early 18th century; earliest use found in Short Explication of Foreign Words in Musick Books. From Italian piffero from Middle High German pfīfer piper. Compare French piffero, Catalan pífaro, Spanish pífaro, Portuguese pífaro.