from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Oboe \O"boe\, n. [It., fr. F. hautbois. See {Hautboy}.] (Mus.)
One of the higher wind instruments in the modern orchestra,
yet of great antiquity, having a penetrating pastoral quality
of tone, somewhat like the clarinet in form, but more
slender, and sounded by means of a double reed; a hautboy.
[1913 Webster]
{Oboe d'amore} [It., lit., oboe of love], and {Oboe di
caccia} [It., lit., oboe of the chase], are names of obsolete
modifications of the oboe, often found in the scores of
Bach and Handel.
[1913 Webster]