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spinet

[ spin-it ]
/ ˈspɪn ɪt /
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noun
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. 2023

How to use spinet in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for spinet

spinet
/ (spɪˈnɛt, ˈspɪnɪt) /

noun
a small type of harpsichord having one manual

Word Origin for spinet

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 Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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