(historical)a small harpsichord with the strings set obliquely to the keyboard, popular in the 18th century (史)(18世纪流行的)斯皮耐琴;小型拨弦古钢琴
(US)a type of small upright piano (美)小型立式钢琴
语源
mid 17th cent.: shortening of obsolete French espinette, from Italian spinetta 'virginal, spinet', diminutive of spina 'thorn' (see spine), the strings being plucked by quills