castanets
8.3
A pair of small wooden pieces clicked in the hands to make a sharp sound
- noun
- /ˌkæstəˈnɛts/
:
castañuelas
- As she twirled on stage, the castanets added a lively rhythm to her movements.
Examples
-
The dancer expertly played the castanets during the flamenco performance.
-
♫ [ Castanets Clicking]
-
He learned to use the castanets to enhance the music of his traditional dance.
Synonyms
bones
vscastanets
19
8.7
Two small curved pieces of wood or bone that you click together to make a rhythm
is used mainly for Spanish dance rather than general traditional music
castanet
vscastanets
3
7.0
A small handheld instrument clicked together to make a sharp rhythm in Spanish dance
is the same instrument term but usually used as the plural form
finger cymbals
vscastanets
1
7.3
A pair of small metal discs worn on the fingers and tapped to make a bright ring used in dance
produce a wooden clicking sound and are used in Spanish dancing
clappers
vscastanets
7.9
Two pieces of wood or bone that you click together to make rhythm
focuses on use in Spanish dancing rather than general dance contexts
How Loud
Surface Forms
Etymology
Castanets comes from the Spanish root castaña, which means 'chestnut', because the original little shells looked like chestnuts. That's why castanets are small wooden pieces you click in your hand for Spanish dance music.