Word.ws English Dictionary

castanet

/ˌkæs.təˈnɛt/

castanet noun: a single handheld percussion instrument consisting of a pair of concave shells or shell-shaped parts joined on one edge by string.

Noun

castanet (plural castanets)

  1. (in plural) A single handheld percussion instrument consisting of a pair of concave shells or shell-shaped parts joined on one edge by string.

castanet meaning in Tagalog

castanet in Tagalog

a single handheld percussion instrument
talakatak, kastanyetas, pakalkak

Forms of castanet

pluralcastanets

Origin of castanet

From Spanish castañeta, diminutive form of castaña, from Latin castanea, from Ancient Greek καστάνεια (kastáneia, “chestnut”), possibly of Pre-Greek origin. Related to the chest in chestnut, formerly chesten.

Words formed from castanet

Questions about castanet

What does castanet mean?
Castanet means a single handheld percussion instrument consisting of a pair of concave shells or shell-shaped parts joined on one edge by string.
What is castanet in Tagalog?
Castanet in Tagalog is talakatak, kastanyetas, pakalkak. See Castanet meaning in Tagalog.
What part of speech is castanet?
Castanet is a noun.
How do you pronounce castanet?
Castanet is pronounced /ˌkæs.təˈnɛt/ (UK).
What is the plural of castanet?
The plural of castanet is castanets.

Words near castanet in the dictionary

  1. Castana
  2. castanean
  3. Castaneda
  4. castaneous
  5. castaneously
  6. castanet
  7. castanetist
  8. castanetists
  9. castanets
  10. Castano
  11. Castano Primo

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: castanet (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-castanet.wav, LL-Q1860 (eng)-Wodencafe-castanets.wav.

Cite this entry: “castanet.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/castanet. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.