Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A percussion instrument consisting of a pair of slightly concave shells of ivory or hardwood, held in the palm of the hand by a connecting cord over the thumb and clapped together with the fingers.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun One of a pair of slightly concave spoon-shaped shells of ivory or hard wood, loosely fastened together at the base, and used (slung over the thumb) in beating time to music or dancing.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun See castanets.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun music A single handheld percussion instrument, from of a pair of concave shells joined on one edge by string. Normally not used in singular.

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Spanish castañeta, from castaña, chestnut, from Latin castanea; see chestnut.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Spanish castañeta, diminutive form of castaña, from Latin castanea, from Ancient Greek καστάνεια (kastaneia, "chestnut").

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Examples

  • A little to one side sit old men musicians, who keep up a kind of castanet rattle with split willow wands and a droning accompaniment of meaningless syllables, like the burden of old ballads.

    The White Hour 1999

  • A little to one side sit old men musicians, who keep up a kind of castanet rattle with split willow wands and a droning accompaniment of meaningless syllables, like the burden of old ballads.

    The White Hour 1903

  • The Twists, Lilly's latest charges—each one's little bald header uniquely marked with liquor, though whatever digestive existed was neither relevant nor sought: at the endorsement of the deacon each would be fed and everyone knew it—simply reached up and pounded on the sidelines of the castanet while exercising their handcart-trusses and closets.

    Farouche Matt Dennison 2011

  • Mandarins, clumsy in the weak mortar lightship, stumbled against the waistband as if it were just then being discovered, while other, livelier, sours, shouted and slapped the castanet during spontaneous bid-quoting contingencies and then became very quintet and watchful.

    Farouche Matt Dennison 2011

  • The castanet, it appears, had been secured too far past the waistband's single baby, though Daddy was not a tall mandarin, and the rosters chosen for their relic cleanliness were too long to provide adequate lighthouses unless pulled hard and with no letting up.

    Farouche Matt Dennison 2011

  • And true to form, Mr. Salett returned from his walk-through with something to show Ms. Marrais: a jerry-rigged castanet clacker, acquired during a drop-in at producer Nick Stumpf's studio, The Love Boat.

    Rocking Near the F Train Steve Dollar 2011

  • You can samba to a castanet-addled reimagining of "Swan Lake," quickstep to an upbeat, jazzy rendition of "Danny Boy," and cha-cha to "Dance of the Hours."

    Archive 2008-10-01 SVGL 2008

  • Boxes were illuminated or dimmed as singers and musicians all men joined in with drone strings, drums, flutes, a tangy jew ' s-harp and the whirlwind castanet-playing of the conductor, Daevo Kahn.

    The White Light Spectrum Heidi Waleson 2010

  • La Liga's titans go toe-to-toe at Camp Nou tonight in a match the Fiver's siesta-taking, castanet-clacking Spanish cousin Juan Miguel Manuel Ole!

    Conical bifter; and FiverLeaks Barry Glendenning 2010

  • You can samba to a castanet-addled reimagining of "Swan Lake," quickstep to an upbeat, jazzy rendition of "Danny Boy," and cha-cha to "Dance of the Hours."

    The Princess Debut Rebellion SVGL 2008

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