tuba

English "tuba" was borrowed in the 19th century from French, German (originally "Baß-Tuba," literally "bass tuba"), or Italian tuba, all going back to Latin "tuba," meaning "tube, trumpet, military trumpet." The Latin word's deeper origin is unclear, though it may be linked to "tibia," the Latin word for shinbone or reed-pipe.

In Latin the word simply meant a trumpet used in war, with no fixed shape or pitch implied. By the time it reached English, it had narrowed to name the large, coiled bass instrument we know today, often via the German compound "Baß-Tuba."

It may share roots with "tibia," since Latin speakers used both words for wind instruments made from hollow tubes — one a bone-flute, the other a trumpet.