castanetsnoun [ plural ]
uk/ˌkæs.təˈnets/us/ˌkæs.təˈnets/a musical instrument consisting of two small pieces of wood tied together by string and knocked against each other in the hand to make a noise
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Musical instruments
- accordion
- alphorn
- alto
- alto recorder
- bagpipes
- English horn
- euphonium
- fingerboard
- flugelhorn
- flute
- pitched
- plectrum
- reed
- reed instrument
- sax
- viola
- violin
- violoncello
- vuvuzela
- wind chimes
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Examples from literature
- At every house the women dance and sing, clashing castanets or cymbals of brass and jingling bunches of little brass bells in both hands.
- Castanets are small wooden rattles, made in the shape of two bowls or cups, fitted together, and tied by a string, and then fastened to the thumbs.
- It was a feast of lanterns, and not without the accompaniment of guitars and castanets, and rich, soft voices.
- It was notunusual for them to carry tambourines and castanets with which to beat time to their dances.
- They danced to the music of the pipes, the lyre, the castanets of wood, steel, or brass, as is shown in the illustrations taken from the monuments.