Definition

1. Noun:
   • A small fipple flute with four finger holes and two thumb holes: A flageolet is a high-pitched woodwind instrument, similar to a recorder, that produces sound when the player blows air through a fipple (a mouthpiece with a narrow channel). It is known for its sweet, bird-like tone.
   • A French bean variety with light-colored seeds; usually dried: A flageolet is a type of small, pale green kidney bean, traditionally cultivated in France. It is often harvested when young and tender or dried for later use.

Examples of Usage

• Noun (Musical Instrument):
  • The shepherd played a simple tune on his flageolet.
  • The museum's collection includes a 19th-century ivory flageolet.
• Noun (Bean):
  • The recipe calls for soaked flageolets to make the classic French cassoulet.
  • We served lamb with a side of creamy flageolet beans.

Advanced Usage

• Historical Context (Instrument): The flageolet was particularly popular in the 18th and 19th centuries for dance music and as a practice instrument for bird imitations.
  • In Jane Austen's era, young ladies were often taught to play the flageolet.
• Culinary Context (Bean): Flageolets are prized in French cuisine for their delicate flavor and fine, creamy texture when cooked.
  • For an authentic dish, you should use true French flageolets, not ordinary white beans.

Variants and Related Words

• Tin whistle / Penny whistle: A similar simple fipple flute, usually made of metal.
• Recorder: Another fipple flute, typically larger and with a different fingering system than the flageolet.
• Haricot bean: A general term for several varieties of small, white dried beans, under which flageolets are sometimes categorized.

Synonyms

• For the instrument: Fipple flute, duct flute.
• For the bean: Haricot vert (when referring to the fresh, green pod), French kidney bean.

Related Phrases

• To play the flageolet: This phrase specifically refers to performing on this instrument.
  • He learned to play the flageolet from an old music book.
• Flageolet beans: The standard term when referring to the legume in a culinary context.
  • You can find flageolet beans in the gourmet section of the supermarket.

Noun

1. a small fipple flute with four finger holes and two thumb holes
2. a French bean variety with light-colored seeds; usually dried