clavicembalo

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clavicembalo (It.). Clavicymbal. The It. word for harpsichord. It derives from clavichordium, found in Ger. poem of 1404 which lists the instr. of courtly love. The It. is occasionally corrupted to gravicembalo and regularly shortened to cembalo. The Fr. form is clavecinon, shortened to clavecin (1611).