castanets : Dictionary / Wörterbuch (BEOLINGUS, TU Chemnitz)

English Dictionary: castanets	by the DICT Development Group
2 results for castanets
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
castanets n 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 Synonym(s): bones, castanets, clappers, finger cymbals
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Castanets \Cas"ta*nets\, n. pl. [F. castagnettes, Sp. casta[a4]etas, fr. L. castanea (Sp. casta[a4]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. Note: The singular, castanet, is used of one of the pair, or, sometimes, of the pair forming the instrument. The dancer, holding a castanet in each hand, rattles then to the motion of his feet. --Moore (Encyc. of Music).