The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
n. A woodwind instrument of the oboe family, with a pitch between that of an English horn and a bassoon.
WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
n. an oboe pitched an octave below the ordinary oboe
Word Usage
"In addition, Italian conductor Carlo Rizzi returns to La Monnaie and brings out the full glory of the large orchestra Strauss scored the piece for, including two harps and a heckelphone, a sort of giant oboe."