spinet
Use Spinet in a sentence
ɪt noun
1.
a small upright piano.
2.
a small, square piano.
3.
any of various small harpsichords.
4.
Also called spinet organ. a small electric organ.
Origin:
1655–65; aphetic variant of obsolete espinette < French < Italian spinetta, probably equivalent to spin(a) thorn (see spine) + -etta diminutive suffix; the existence of an instrument-maker named Spinetti is unverified
1655–65; aphetic variant of obsolete espinette < French < Italian spinetta, probably equivalent to spin(a) thorn (see spine) + -etta diminutive suffix; the existence of an instrument-maker named Spinetti is unverified
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source
|
Link To spinet
00:10
Spinet
is always a great word to know.
So is doohickey. Does it mean:
| a children's mummer's parade, as on the Fourth of July, with prizes for the best costumes. |
| a gadget; dingus; thingumbob. |
Collins
World English Dictionary
spinet (spɪˈnɛt, ˈspɪnɪt) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —n | |
| a small type of harpsichord having one manual | |
| [C17: from Italian spinetta, perhaps from Giovanni Spinetti, 16th-century Italian maker of musical instruments and its supposed inventor] | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
spinet
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).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Cite This Source
Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia
spinet
small form of the harpsichord, generally wing-shaped, with a single set of strings placed at an oblique angle to the keyboard. The wing-shaped spinet may have originated in Italy during the 16th century; later it became known in France and England.
Learn more about spinet with a free trial on Britannica.com.
Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
Cite This Source
Cite This Source
Example sentences
They had been known in a pinch to make do with her priceless spinet or to use her fragile étagère as a sort of shooting stick.
Nearby Words
Copyright © 2013 Dictionary.com, LLC. All rights reserved.
