spinet

Definitions


[ˈspɪnɪt], (Noun)

Definitions:
- a small harpsichord with the strings set obliquely to the keyboard, popular in the 18th century

- a type of small upright piano


Phrases:

Origin:
mid 17th century: shortening of obsolete French espinette, from Italian spinetta ‘virginal, spinet’, diminutive of spina ‘thorn’ (see spine), the strings being plucked by quills




definition by Oxford Dictionaries