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View synonyms for spinet

spinet

[ spin-it ]

noun

  1. a small upright piano.
  2. a small, square piano.
  3. any of various small harpsichords.
  4. Also called spinet organ. a small electric organ.


spinet

/ ˈspɪnɪt; spɪˈnɛt /

noun

  1. a small type of harpsichord having one manual
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012


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Word History and Origins

Origin of spinet1

1655–65; aphetic variant of obsolete espinette < French < Italian spinetta, probably equivalent to spin ( a ) thorn ( spine ) + -etta diminutive suffix; the existence of an instrument-maker named Spinetti is unverified
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Word History and Origins

Origin of spinet1

C17: from Italian spinetta, perhaps from Giovanni Spinetti, 16th-century Italian maker of musical instruments and its supposed inventor
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Example Sentences

A sweet-toned old spinet in good repair stood by the window.

I went into the smoking-room and sat down before the spinet.

I called it a spinet, because it somewhat resembled that instrument, and was played upon in the same manner.

Before the spinet a bench was placed about four feet below the keys, and I was put upon the bench.

He coloured furiously, and looked sternly at the page of music lying before him on the spinet.

She sat down at the spinet and played a little madrigal by Orlando Gibbons that was associated with her earliest childhood.

In Fig. 89 is seen a beautiful spinet in excellent condition.

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