aulos means any of a class of ancient Greek musical instruments resembling pipes or flutes. It carries an Arena rating of 1473, earned across 38 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, aulos ranks #1,586 of 17,126 for Most Elegant Words, #2,817 of 17,149 for Most Exacting Words, #2,973 of 17,127 for Most Vivid Words, #3,091 of 17,130 for Most Beautiful Words.
Why “aulos” is a great word
AULOS — [Noun] An ancient Greek wind instrument, typically a double-reeded pipe producing a vibrant, penetrating sound. From Ancient Greek αὐλός (aulós, "tube, pipe"). Unlike the "flute" (which summons its ethereal note from the breath's edge) or the "lyre" (which offers the measured, Apollonian clarity of plucked strings), the aulos is a reed-blown instrument of visceral, breath-filled urgency. It is the reedy cry that drove the ecstatic dancers of Dionysus, the sharp, rhythmic pulse pacing the tragic chorus on the Athenian stage, and the raw, animal breath forced through twin cane tubes until the player's cheeks bulged—an instrument not of celestial harmony, but of the body’s own insistent, mortal song.
Etymology
From Ancient Greek αὐλός (aulós).
noun
- Any of a class of ancient Greek musical instruments resembling pipes or flutes.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Words closest in meaning
By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.
- aulete 74% match — An aulos player. vs aulos →
- diaulos 72% match — An Ancient Greek wind instrument composed of two pipes connected at the base and often of different lengths, played similarly to an oboe. vs aulos →
- aulode 67% match — An aulos player. vs aulos →
- auletic 66% match — Of or relating to a musical pipe or piper. vs aulos →
- auletris 66% match — A courtesan or prostitute in Ancient Greece who played the flute to provide entertainment. vs aulos →
- aeolina 62% match — An early type of harmonica with metal plates enclosing free reeds. vs aulos →
- aeolsklavier 61% match — A modification of the aeolodicon, having wooden reeds or springs, and a pedal which triggered a set of bellows (one for each note) and produced a soft and ethereal sound. vs aulos →
- aeolomelodicon 61% match — An obsolete musical instrument derived from the aeolodicon but having brass tubes affixed to the reeds, making it more like an organ. vs aulos →