From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishspinetspi‧net /spɪˈnet $ ˈspɪnɪt/ noun [countable] 1 a musical instrument of the 16th and 17th centuries, which is played like a piano2 American English a small upright piano
Examples from the Corpus
spinet• Small vertical pianos, especially the compact but musically compromised spinet, now constitute a negligible portion of the piano business.• Piano students work on nine sturdy spinets in the Sherman auditorium.Origin spinet (1600-1700) Italian spinetta, perhaps from Giovanni Spinetti 16th-century Italian musician who supposedly invented the instrument 