Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A small, compact upright piano.
- noun A small, compact upright electronic organ.
- noun A small harpsichord with a single keyboard.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun A small wood or place where briers and thorns grow; a spinney.
- noun A musical instrument essentially similar to the harpsichord, but of smaller size and much lighter tone. Also called
virginal and couched harp.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun (Mus.) A keyed instrument of music resembling a harpsichord, but smaller, with one string of brass or steel wire to each note, sounded by means of leather or quill plectrums or jacks. It was formerly much used.
- noun (Mus.) See
Manichordon . - noun obsolete A spinny.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun music A short,
compact harpsichord orpiano . - noun obsolete A
spinney .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a small and compactly built upright piano
- noun early model harpsichord with only one string per note
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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By some means, and with friendly assistance (perhaps his mother's), he succeeded in smuggling into the garret a spinet, which is a kind of piano.
Music Talks with Children Thomas Tapper
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And to the mention of a Clementi piano, that short, gentle, sad, old, little sort of piano people will insist upon calling a spinet, in her flat.
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In addition to the B3, there are a number of smaller Hammond instruments, known as the spinet series (M3, M100, L100, T100).
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As a child, when my father played piano, I was small enough to hide myself inside the case at the base of my family's spinet.
The Man With a Thousand Faces Joel Henning 2011
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After dinner, Swift insisted Betsy Patrick play a few selections on her spinet.
The Devil's Bedpost 2010
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Each floral scent was clear, as distinct as the notes Connie played on her old-fashioned spinet.
The Dressmaker Posie Graeme-Evans 2010
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After supper, she played the spinet for a time, filling the house with the rousing sound of "Yankee Doodle."
The Devil's Bedpost 2010
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"I don't think I've ever heard that played on a spinet," he told her.
The Devil's Bedpost 2010
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I am reminded of the movie, Rachel and the Stranger, where the widower laments that his wife fought so hard to make their isolated cabin a home and bring beauty to it by insisting on planting flowers in the front yard, bringing her spinet to the West and playing it every evening, buying a metronome for her playing, educating their son in the home and insisting that he show good manners.
Archive 2007-09-01 Linda 2007
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I am reminded of the movie, Rachel and the Stranger, where the widower laments that his wife fought so hard to make their isolated cabin a home and bring beauty to it by insisting on planting flowers in the front yard, bringing her spinet to the West and playing it every evening, buying a metronome for her playing, educating their son in the home and insisting that he show good manners.
Women and Their Dedication to Beauty in 19th Century America Linda 2007
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