castanet

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   one of a pair of small shell-shaped percussion instruments clicked together by the fingers, especially in Spanish dance

   Each castanet clicked sharply as the flamenco dancer turned.

Simplified etymology

Castanet comes from Spanish and is ultimately related to Greek kastanea “chestnut.” The name presumably refers to the instrument’s chestnut-like shape.

From Spanish castañeta, a diminutive of castaña ("chestnut"), because the hollow wooden shells resemble chestnut halves. Castaña comes through Latin castanea from Greek kastaneia, a word of uncertain, possibly pre-Greek origin.

Topics

External links

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• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary