Meaning

noun a high-pitched woodwind instrument; a slender tube closed at one end with finger holes on one end and an opening near the closed end across which the breath is blown

noun a tall narrow wineglass

noun a groove or furrow in cloth etc (particularly a shallow concave groove on the shaft of a column)

originFrom Middle English fleute, floute, flote, from Old French flaute, fleüte, from Old Provençal flaüt, of uncertain origin. Perhaps ultimately from three possibilities: * Blend of Provencal flaujol (“flageolet”) + laüt (“lute”) * From Latin flātus (“blowing”), from flāre (“to blow”) * Imitative. Doublet of flauta and fluyt.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0