Merriam-Webster's Word Central

September 02, 2012

saxophone (noun): \SAK-suh-fohn\
What does it mean?: : a musical instrument of the woodwind class consisting of a usually curved metal tube with finger keys and a reed mouthpiece
How do you use it?: Ben decided to take up the saxophone after his music teacher played a recording of the great American saxophonist John Coltrane.
Are you a word wiz?: Which of the statements below do you think correctly explains how the saxophone got its name?

A. It was named after the Anglo-Saxons who brought the saxophone to England.

B. It was named for the saxifrage plant because a saxophone resembles leaves of the plant.

C. It was named after the inventor of the saxophone whose last name was Sax.

D. It was named for the German state of Saxony where the first saxophone was created.

Answer C is music to our ears! The saxophone was named for its inventor, a man named Antoine-Joseph Sax. Mr. Sax invented the saxophone in France in the mid-1800s. The word "saxophone" is a combination of the name "Sax" and the French word "-phone" meaning "sound." We also find Mr. Sax's name in the words "saxhorn" and "saxtuba," which are the names of other instruments Mr. Sax invented.