hornpipe Meaning, Definition & Usage

noun a British solo dance performed by sailors
noun music for dancing the hornpipe
noun an ancient (now obsolete) single-reed woodwind; usually made of bone
pibgorn; stockhorn.

(Mus.) (a) An instrument of music formerly popular in Wales, consisting of a wooden pipe, with holes at intervals. It was so called because the bell at the open end was sometimes made of horn. (b) A lively tune played on a hornpipe, for dancing; a tune adapted for such playing.
Many a hornpipe he tuned to his Phyllis. Sir W. Raleigh.
(c) A dance performed, usually by one person, to such a tune, and popular among sailors. = sailor's hornpipe