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quintet

UK/kwɪnˈtɛt/US/kwɪnˈtɛt/
nounB2+Occasional — familiar, but not everyday · #10,558 of 15,258mostly written

Other forms: quintets

A quintet is a group of five performers. A string quintet, a jazz quintet, play in a quintet.

A string quintet is usually a quartet with an extra viola or cello added to it. The word also names the piece written for five players rather than the players themselves.

Chamber Music Queen · CC BY-SA 4.0

Definitions of quintet

  1. 1nounquintetA group of five performers.B2+

    “The quintet played the same programme in nine towns.”

quintet is a group.

Where it comes from

Italian quintetto is a diminutive of quinto, fifth, from Latin quintus, related to quinque, five.

  1. Latin

    quintus

  2. Italian

    quintetto

  3. French

    quintette

  4. English, today

    quintet

Built from

  • quinto · Italian — fifth
  • quīnque · Latin — five

From French quintette, from Italian quintetto, diminutive of quinto (“fifth”), itself from Latin quintus, related to quīnque (“five”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practise this word

quintet in the wild

  • A string quintet is a musical ensemble of five string players.

    String quintet

  • String quintets were common in 17th century Italy and can be found as early as 1607 in Claudio Monteverdi's opera, L'Orfeo.

    String quintet

  • A quintet is a group containing five members.

    Quintet

  • A brass quintet is a five-piece musical ensemble composed of brass instruments.

    Brass quintet

  • Musicians in a brass quintet may often play multiple instruments.

    Brass quintet

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From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.