Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Showing results for sennet. Search instead for sennets.

sennet

1 American  
[sen-it] / ˈsɛn ɪt /

noun

  1. any of several small barracudas, as Sphyraena borealis northern sennet, ranging along the eastern coast of North and Central America.

sennet 2 American  
[sen-it] / ˈsɛn ɪt /

noun

  1. (in Elizabethan drama) a set of notes played on the trumpet or cornet to mark the entrance or exit of a group of actors.

sennet 3 American  
[sen-it] / ˈsɛn ɪt /

noun

  1. sennit.

sennet British  
/ ˈsɛnɪt /

noun

  1. a fanfare: used as a stage direction in Elizabethan drama

"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

Etymology

Origin of sennet1

First recorded in 1665–75; origin unknown

Origin of sennet2

First recorded in 1580–90; variant of signet

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.

These seem to point to a derivation of the word from sonare, and thus the spelling ought to be sonnet, not sennet.

From Shakespeare and Music With Illustrations from the Music of the 16th and 17th centuries by Naylor, Edward W. (Edward Woodall)

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.