English
embouchure
Embouchure comes from French embouchure ‘mouthpiece’, and goes back to Latin bucca ‘cheek’.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEbucca1‘cheek’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400boche2
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600bouche2
- Frenchc. 1600–presentbouche1‘mouth’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentemboucher1‘to put in one’s mouth’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentembouchure1‘mouthpiece’
- Englishearliest quotation 1857embouchure1
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, English embouchure
- 2 Wiktionary, French bouche
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1857, Bayard Taylor, Northern Travel: Summer and Winter Pictures: “We approached Piteå at sunset. The view over the…”.
Earlier history uncertain. See Wiktionary.
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEbuccaWiktionary, English embouchure‘cheek’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400bocheWiktionary, French bouche
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600boucheWiktionary, French bouche
- Frenchc. 1600–presentboucheWiktionary, English embouchure‘mouth’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentemboucherWiktionary, English embouchure‘to put in one’s mouth’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentembouchureWiktionary, English embouchure‘mouthpiece’
- Englishearliest quotation 1857embouchureWiktionary, English embouchure. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1857, Bayard Taylor, Northern Travel: Summer and Winter Pictures: “We approached Piteå at sunset. The view over the…”
Linked words
through Latin beccus ‘beak’
through Latin bucca ‘cheek’
through French bouche ‘mouth’
Today it means
noun The use of the lips, facial muscles, tongue, and teeth when playing a wind instrument.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “embouchure”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for French bouche. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / Latin bucca / embouchure