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cembalo

American  
[chem-buh-loh] / ˈtʃɛm bəˌloʊ /

noun

Music.
  • cembali,
    plural
  • cembalos
    plural
  1. harpsichord.


cembalo British  
/ ˈtʃɛmbələʊ /

noun

  1. another word for harpsichord

"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

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

Inflected Forms

Nouns

Etymology

Origin of cembalo

1795–1805; < Italian ( clavi ) cembalo < Latin cymbalum cymbal

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

Rossini, at the cembalo, stood up and applauded vigorously at the end of the act.

From Time Magazine Archive

My view of Cristofori's invention allows me to think that the Estense "piano e forte" may have been a hammer cembalo, a very imperfect one, of course.

From Scientific American Supplement, No. 385, May 19, 1883 by Various

The piece for one cembalo between the 2nd and 3rd Sonatas is, as we have remarked, of lighter character, and was possibly considered a suite.

From The Pianoforte Sonata Its Origin and Development by J. S. (John South) Shedlock

The essential distinction between the cembalo and the spinet was in the manner of tone production.

From A Popular History of the Art of Music From the Earliest Times Until the Present by W. S. B. (William Smythe Babcock) Mathews

In the cembalo there was a wooden jack resting upon the end of the keys, and upon this jack a little plectrum made of raven's quill, which had to be frequently renewed.

From A Popular History of the Art of Music From the Earliest Times Until the Present by W. S. B. (William Smythe Babcock) Mathews

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