castanet

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. A single handheld percussion instrument consisting of a pair of concave shells or shell-shaped parts joined on one edge by string.

Pronunciation

/ˌkæs.təˈnɛt/ LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-castanet.wav LL-Q1860 (eng)-Wodencafe-castanets.wav

Word forms

castanet castanets

Etymology

From Spanish castañeta, diminutive form of castaña, from Latin castanea, from Ancient Greek καστάνεια (kastáneia, “chestnut”), possibly of Pre-Greek origin. Related to the chest in chestnut, formerly chesten.

Related words

Derived words

This entry uses open data from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA/GFDL). Word forms are used for search and are not indexed as separate pages.