'Castanets' definitions:
Definition of 'castanets'
(from WordNet)
noun
A percussion instrument consisting of a pair of hollow pieces of wood or bone (usually held between the thumb and fingers) that are made to click together (as by Spanish dancers) in rhythm with the dance [syn: bones, castanets, clappers, finger cymbals]
Definition of 'Castanets'
From: GCIDE
- 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]
Synonyms of 'castanets'
From: Moby Thesaurus
- battery,
- bells,
- bones,
- celesta,
- chime,
- chimes,
- clappers,
- crash cymbal,
- cymbals,
- finger cymbals,
- gamelan,
- glockenspiel,
- gong,
- handbells,
- idiophone,
- lyra,
- maraca,
- marimba,
- metallophone,
- orchestral bells,
- percussion,
- percussion instrument,
- percussions,
- percussive,
- rattle,
- rattlebones,
- sizzler,
- snappers,
- tam-tam,
- tintinnabula,
- tonitruone,
- triangle,
- tubular bells,
- vibes,
- vibraphone,
- xylophone