spin·et

(spĭn′ĭt)

a. A small, compact upright piano.

b. A small, compact upright electronic organ.

2. A small harpsichord with a single keyboard.

[Obsolete French espinette, from Italian spinetta, perhaps diminutive of spīna, thorn (presumably so called because the strings of the original instrument were plucked with quills); see spinel.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

spinet

(spɪˈnɛt; ˈspɪnɪt)

(Instruments) 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 and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

spin•et

(ˈspɪn ɪt)

n.

1. a small upright piano.

2. any of various small harpsichords.

3. a small electric organ.

[1655–65; aph. variant of obsolete espinette < French < Italian spinetta, probably derivative of spin(a) thorn (see spine)]

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun	1.	spinet - a small and compactly built upright piano upright piano, upright - a piano with a vertical sounding board
	2.	spinet - early model harpsichord with only one string per note cembalo, harpsichord - a clavier with strings that are plucked by plectra mounted on pivots

Translations

Spinett

spinetti

épinette

spinetta

szpinet

spinet

[spɪˈnet] N → espineta f

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

spinet

→ Spinett nt

(US) → Kleinklavier nt

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

Mentioned in

References in classic literature

I had learned in my youth to play a little upon the spinet. Glumdalclitch kept one in her chamber, and a master attended twice a-week to teach her: I called it a spinet, because it somewhat resembled that instrument, and was played upon in the same manner.

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I could not so readily come at playing on the harpsichord or spinet, because I had no instrument of my own to practice on, and could only come at theirs in the intervals when they left it, which was uncertain; but yet I learned tolerably well too, and the young ladies at length got two instruments, that is to say, a harpsichord and a spinet too, and then they taught me themselves.

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Cole, I really was ashamed to look at our new grand pianoforte in the drawingroom, while I do not know one note from another, and our little girls, who are but just beginning, perhaps may never make any thing of it; and there is poor Jane Fairfax, who is mistress of music, has not any thing of the nature of an instrument, not even the pitifullest old spinet in the world, to amuse herself with.I was saying this to Mr.

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(polyandria polygynia); whence you hear the sound of jingling spinets and women singing; where little porter pots hang on the railings sunning themselves; whither of evenings you see City clerks padding wearily: here it was that Mr.

View in context

3 batsman Kusal Perera shared 83 runs for the second wicket in 95 balls before Karunaratne (46) was caught by wicketkeeper Mushfiqur Rahim trying to scoop left-arm spinet Tailjul Islam.

Mathews leads Sri Lanka to series sweep against Bangladesh

In 1965, the Sydney antiques dealer William Bradshaw heard of a "spinet" up for sale in Windsor.

First piano to Australia comes home after 231 years

I love lights and decorations--within reason, you freaks--and parties, food, family gatherings and carols at the spinet, especially since my mother-in-law is still playing after more than 80 years.

Can't Buy Me Love

The typical period Viennese piano at times reminds one of a harpsichord or spinet, and further lightens the sonata.

Premysl Vojta, Tobias Koch Metamorphosis

Stuart's arrangements were clearly not designed purely as vocal settings: no song texts are included with the music, and although no instrumentation is named, the frontispiece features an illustration of a violinist holding an unexpectedly large violin, and a spinet player whose instrument has been engraved in reverse.

Ramsay's Musical Sources: Reconstructing a Poet's Musical Memory

This concert will feature Jazz and Swing arrangements of Christmas music commissioned for this concert, ranging from sacred tunes such as Mary Did You Know, and I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day to arrangements of secular songs like I Need a little Christmas Now (but with the Pete Ellman Band and not a spinet).

Pete The Pete Ellman Big Band Teams with Naperville Chorus for "A Swingin' Christmas"

Cheryl is sick, has sent her son to play the crippled keyboard of the unwaxed Spinet, piano we all thought was finished, silent, dumb, ivories gray and topped with sculptures jabbed with pipe cleaners and clay.

David Tunes the Piano