Castanets

Castanets
Castanets Cas"ta*nets, n. pl. [F. castagnettes, Sp. casta[~n]etas, fr. L. castanea (Sp. casta[~n]a) a chestnut. So named from the resemblance to two chestnuts, or because chestnuts were first used for castanets. See {Chestnut}.] Two small, concave shells of ivory or hard wood, shaped like spoons, fastened to the thumb, and beaten together with the middle finger; -- used by the Spaniards and Moors as an accompaniment to their dance and guitars. [1913 Webster]

Note: The singular, castanet, is used of one of the pair, or, sometimes, of the pair forming the instrument. [1913 Webster]

The dancer, holding a castanet in each hand, rattles them to the motion of his feet. --Moore (Encyc. of Music). [1913 Webster]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • castanets — [kas΄tə nets′] pl.n. 〚Fr castagnette (sing.) < Sp castañeta, dim. of castaña < L castanea, CHESTNUT: so named from the shape〛 a pair of small, hollowed pieces of hard wood, ivory, etc., held in the hand by a connecting cord and clicked together… …   Universalium

  • castanets — ► PLURAL NOUN ▪ a pair of small concave pieces of wood, ivory, or plastic, clicked together by the fingers as an accompaniment to Spanish dancing. ORIGIN Spanish castañeta little chestnut …   English terms dictionary

  • castanets — [kas΄tə nets′] pl.n. [Fr castagnette (sing.) < Sp castañeta, dim. of castaña < L castanea, CHESTNUT: so named from the shape] a pair of small, hollowed pieces of hard wood, ivory, etc., held in the hand by a connecting cord and clicked… …   English World dictionary

  • castanets — [[t]kæ̱stəne̱ts[/t]] N PLURAL: also a pair of N Castanets are a Spanish musical instrument consisting of two small round pieces of wood or plastic held together by a cord. You hold the castanets in your hand and knock the pieces together with… …   English dictionary

  • castanets — castanetas, castanuelas исп. [кастанье/тас], [кастаньюэ/лас] castagnettes фр. [кастанье/т] castagnetti ит. [кастанье/тти] castanets англ. [кастэнэ/тс] кастаньеты …   Словарь иностранных музыкальных терминов

  • Castanets (band) — Infobox musical artist Name = Castanets Img capt = Img size = Landscape = Background = group or band Alias = Origin = San Diego, California, U.S. Genre = Psychedelic folk Years active = Label = Asthmatic Kitty Associated acts = URL =… …   Wikipedia

  • castanets — noun /ˌkæs.tə.ˈnɛts/ A percussion instrument (idiophone) consisting of a pair of concave shells joined on one edge by a string, held in the hand and used to produce clicking sounds …   Wiktionary

  • castanets — Synonyms and related words: battery, bells, bones, celesta, chime, chimes, clappers, crash cymbal, cymbals, finger cymbals, gamelan, glockenspiel, gong, handbells, idiophone, lyra, maraca, marimba, metallophone, orchestral bells, percussion,… …   Moby Thesaurus

  • castanets — cas|ta|nets [ˌkæstəˈnets] n [plural] a musical instrument made of two small round pieces of wood or plastic that you hold in one hand and knock together, used especially by Spanish dancers …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • castanets — cas|ta|nets [ ,kæstə nets ] noun plural a Spanish musical instrument consisting of a pair of small round pieces of wood or plastic held in one hand and brought together quickly to make a CLICKING sound, used especially by dancers …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

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