spinet
[spin-it]
- a small upright piano.
- a small, square piano.
- any of various small harpsichords.
- Also called spinet organ. a small electric organ.
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Origin of spinet
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 Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for spinet
Contemporary Examples
I went into the smoking-room and sat down before the spinet.
Read ‘The King in Yellow,’ the ‘True Detective’ Reference That’s the Key to the ShowRobert W. Chambers
February 20, 2014
Historical Examples
There are two theories as to the origin of the name "spinet."
How the Piano Came to BeEllye Howell Glover
There are interesting old books on the virginals, harpsichord, and spinet.
The Book-Hunter at HomeP. B. M. Allan
She had been taking lessons on the spinet, but the painting was a great rival.
A Little Girl in Old SalemAmanda Minnie Douglas
Her laugh was sweet and tinkly, like the upper notes of a spinet.
IT and Other StoriesGouverneur Morris
Now I know it is a spinet I heard humming—I told you about it, mother.
True to His HomeHezekiah Butterworth
spinet
- a small type of harpsichord having one manual
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Word Origin
C17: from Italian spinetta, perhaps from Giovanni Spinetti, 16th-century Italian maker of musical instruments and its supposed inventor
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for spinet
n.
1660s, spinette, "small harpsichord," from older French espinette (1520s), from Italian spinetta, said by Scaliger to be a diminutive of spina "thorn, spine," from Latin 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 from the name of the Venetian inventor, Giovanni Spinetti (fl. c.1503).
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper