1664,
spinette, "small harpsichord," from older Fr.
espinette (1522), from It.
spinetta, said by Scaliger to be a dim. of
spina "thorn, spine," from L.
spina "thorn" (see
spine), so called because the strings were plucked with thorn-like quills. The other theory (favored by OED) dates to early 17c. and claims the word is an allusion to the name of the Venetian inventor, Giovanni
Spinetti (fl. c.1503).
[spin-it] 
