fifer


Also found in: Thesaurus, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia.

fife

 (fīf)
n.
A small, high-pitched, transverse flute used primarily to accompany drums in a military or marching band.
v. fifed, fif·ing, fifes
v.intr.
To play a fife.
v.tr.
To perform (a piece or tune) on or as if on a fife.

[Probably German Pfeife, from Middle High German pfīfe, from Old High German pfīffa, from Vulgar Latin *pīpa, from Latin pīpāre, to chirp.]

fif′er n.

Fife

 (fīf)
A region of eastern Scotland between the Firths of Forth and Tay. It was once a Pict kingdom.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
References in classic literature ?
On hearing this Trifaldin bent the knee to the ground, and making a sign to the fifer and drummers to strike up, he turned and marched out of the garden to the same notes and at the same pace as when he entered, leaving them all amazed at his bearing and solemnity.
After looking at it for a little while as she plies her needle, he looks to young Woolwich, sitting on his stool in the corner, and beckons that fifer to him.
He was moreover a fifer in the National Guard,--to escape his turn of sitting up all night in a barrack-room.
The projects are initiated by the six leaders of the group, including Julia Fifer, 15, of St.
A jury on Wednesday found Anderson, 29, of Bend, guilty of aggravated harassment for spitting on deputy Jeremy Fifer.
Fifer retires from that position at the next annual shareholders' meeting on 9 May 2017.
"Our earnings increased 55 percent in 2013, driven by the 40 percent growth in sales and our ongoing focus on continuous improvement in our operations," said Michael Fifer, Ruger CEO.
said in a regulatory filing that CEO Michael Fifer received a 10 percent raise in salary to $550,000 for CP fiscal 2013.
Founder Matt Fifer has joined with others to create the Consumer Product Innovation Lab and a workshop called Selling to the Masses meant to help get new products onto retailers' shelves.
Mum-of-two Jo Fifer, 44, was suspended from her job on Monday after bosses were tipped off.
On the front of the next support, gallery central, in other words, and so juxtaposed at an angle to Pablo de Valladolid, was Manet's The Fifer, 1865-66.