1) n. In New
England, it is a brass musical instument, conical in construction, about 18 feet long, with a large mouthpiece, and is the lowest of the brass instruments. It replaced the ophiclede in the symphony orchestra, and has nothing to do with Wagner Tubas. It has only
one direct cousin in brass instruments, that being the fluglehorn, for all other brass instruments are more cylindrical than the tuber, even the french
horn.
2) n. For the rest of the English-speaking world, it is a fleshy-rooted plant
like a potato or a
yam. Hence, New Englanders and Non-New Englanders can get confused at times, as evidenced below.