bugle
bugle
Pronunciation
The IPA phonetic spelling for "bugle" is /ˈbjuːɡəl/.
🗣️ Syllable Breakdown
The word "bugle" has two syllables: bu-gle.
First Syllable (bu-): /bjuː/
Initial consonant: /b/ (voiced bilabial stop)
Vowel/Glide: /juː/ or /j/ followed by /uː/ (a high back rounded vowel, often preceded by a glide)
Second Syllable (-gle): /ɡəl/
Consonant: /ɡ/ (voiced velar stop)
Vowel/Consonant: /əl/ (a schwa /ə/ followed by a lateral approximant /l/, often forming a syllabic l /l̩/ in rapid speech)
Word Form Variations
The primary word form variations of the term "bugle" are:
Singular Noun: bugle (a musical instrument)
Plural Noun: bugles (multiple instruments or calls)
Present Tense Verb (Base Form/Infinitive): bugle (to play the instrument)
Third-Person Singular Present Verb: bugles (He bugles the morning call.)
Present Participle/Gerund: bugling (He is bugling.)
Past Tense/Past Participle Verb: bugled (They bugled the retreat.)
Definitions, Synonyms and Antonyms
Noun (Bugle)
A noun definition for "bugle" is:
A simple brass wind instrument that resembles a trumpet but has no valves, historically used for military signaling calls such as reveille and taps. It typically produces a limited range of notes based on the harmonic series.
Synonyms: horn, trumpet (less precise), brass instrument, signaling horn
Antonyms: (No direct antonyms for a musical instrument. Conceptual antonyms could be silence, speech.)
Verb (Bugle)
A verb definition for "bugle" is:
To play a bugle, especially to sound a military or ceremonial call; to make a noise resembling the sound of a bugle, as a male elk or stag does during the rutting season.
Synonyms: call, sound, blare, trumpet, toot
Antonyms: hush, silence, whisper, mumble
Examples of Use
Books
Noun Use (The Instrument): "He had been brought up at the depot and knew the bugle calls as well as he knew the alphabet." (Rudyard Kipling, Soldiers Three, 1888)
Verb Use (The Act of Playing): "The soldier raised his battered instrument to his lips to bugle the retreat."
Newspapers and Online Publications
Noun Use (Military/Ceremonial Context): "The haunting strains of a bugle playing 'Taps' marked the end of the solemn memorial service for the fallen officer." (The New York Times, November 2024)
Noun Use (Figurative/Sound): "The commentator sounded the bugle for a change in policy, arguing the current strategy was clearly failing." (The Guardian, October 2024)
Verb Use (Nature/Animal Sound): "Thousands of visitors flocked to the national park this autumn hoping to hear the characteristic bugle of the male elk during the rut."
Entertainment Mediums and Platforms
Film/Television (Noun): "The iconic opening scene of the war drama features a young recruit struggling to play the morning bugle call."
Music (Figurative/Idiomatic): The band released a song titled "Sound the Battle Bugle," implying a rousing call to action or a decisive confrontation.
Video Games (Sound/Call): In many historical or military strategy games, pressing a certain key will "sound the bugle" to command troops to advance or retreat.
General Public Discourse
Noun (Simple Description): "My grandfather kept his old army bugle mounted on the wall as a cherished souvenir."
Verb (Describing an Action): "The scout leader taught the children how to hold and 'lip' the instrument, even if they couldn't quite bugle a full tune."
Noun (Idiomatic/Signal): "The successful test launch was the bugle call announcing the company's arrival in the competitive space tourism market."
10 Famous Quotes Using Bugle
"Blow, bugle, blow, set the wild echoes flying, / Blow, bugle; answer, echoes, dying, dying, dying." (Alfred, Lord Tennyson, "The Princess: The Splendour Falls")
"There came a Wind like a Bugle— / It quivered through the Grass." (Emily Dickinson, "There came a Wind like a Bugle—")
"I take rejection as someone blowing a bugle in my ear to wake me up and get going, rather than retreat." (Sylvester Stallone)
"Rise up—for you the flag is flung—for you the bugle trills, / For you bouquets and ribbon’d wreaths—for you the shores a-crowding." (Walt Whitman, "O Captain! My Captain!")
"I listen vainly, but with thirsty ear, for the witching melody of faint bugles blowing reveille, of far drums beating the long roll." (General Douglas MacArthur, MacArthur film, 1977)
"And bugles calling for them from sad shires." (Wilfred Owen, "Anthem for Doomed Youth")
"Where, where was Roderick then? One blast upon his bugle horn / Were worth a thousand men." (Sir Walter Scott, The Lady of the Lake)
"And all the while from some far-off camp there sings and rings a ceaseless bugle call." (Arthur Machen, "The Ceaseless Bugle Call," 1914)
"So strong you thump, O terrible drums—so loud you bugles blow." (Walt Whitman, "Beat! Beat! Drums!")
"Not from the castle walls, but from counting houses, not be the call of the bugle, but by the click of the abacus..." (Hilary Mantel, Wolf Hall)
Etymology
The word "bugle" comes from a long journey that started with the humble cow!
The Origin (The Cow): The story begins in Latin with the word būculus, which means "a young ox" or "a bullock."
The Horn Connection: This Latin term developed into the Old French word bugle, which meant the wild ox itself, or more specifically, the horn of a wild ox used as a drinking vessel or a simple musical horn. In medieval times, horns from animals were the original "bugles" used to signal or call attention.
Entering English (The Instrument): The word entered Middle English around the late 14th century as bugle.
The first known meaning in English was "the horn of a wild ox" or "a hunting horn." It was purely a signaling instrument derived from an animal horn.
The Modern Shift: Over time, the meaning narrowed and shifted. By the 18th century, the term came to refer specifically to the modern brass instrument—the valveless trumpet used primarily for military and ceremonial calls (like reveille and taps)—because it performed the same signaling function as the original animal horn.
In summary, "bugle" literally means "little bull/ox" and originally referred to the animal horn used for signaling, long before it meant the shiny brass instrument we know today.
Phrases + Idioms Containing Bugle
While the word "bugle" doesn't appear in a large number of common, fixed English idioms compared to words like "hand" or "foot," it features prominently in military and figurative phrases related to signaling, action, and sound.
Here is a list of phrases, including common set phrases and figurative uses:
Sound the bugle: To give a command or signal using a bugle, often figuratively meaning to announce a call to action, battle, or attention.
The bugle call: A specific sound or signal played on the instrument; metaphorically, a summons to action or duty.
Blow the bugle: The physical act of playing the instrument, used interchangeably with "sound the bugle."
The last bugle: A term sometimes used metaphorically for the final call, particularly Taps, signifying the end of the day or, more commonly, a funeral or end of life.
Taps (or Reveille) on the bugle: The common military phrases specifying which call is being played.
To hear the bugle: To acknowledge or respond to a command or summon.
Phrases and Idioms Using Synonyms (Horn/Trumpet) for Similar Effect
Since "bugle" is a type of signaling horn, many figurative phrases use its synonyms for similar effect:
Blow one's own horn/trumpet: To boast or brag about one's own accomplishments. (A common idiom derived from musicians announcing their own arrival).
Sound the alarm/call: To give a warning or a signal of danger.
Tootin' his own horn: An informal variation of "blowing one's own horn."
Vocabulary-Based Stories from SEA
Source Information
Definition of bugle from The Academic Glossary at Self Exploration Academy, a Urikville Press Publication. © All rights reserved.
