Word Study
quintet
CIDE DICTIONARY
quintet, n. [It. quintetto, dim. of quinto the fifth, a fifth part, from L. quintus the fifth: cf. F. quintette. See Quint.].
A composition for five voices or instruments; also, the set of five persons who sing or play five-part music. [1913 Webster]
OXFORD DICTIONARY
quintet, n. (also quintette)
1 Mus. a a composition for five voices or instruments. b the performers of such a piece.
2 any group of five.
1 Mus. a a composition for five voices or instruments. b the performers of such a piece.
2 any group of five.
Etymology
F quintette f. It. quintetto f. quinto fifth f. L quintus
THESAURUS
quintet
Pentateuch, Philharmonic, Phoebe, V, band, big band, bipartisanship, brass, brass band, brass choir, brass quintet, brass section, brasses, callithumpian band, chamber orchestra, cinque, coaction, coadjuvancy, coadministration, coagency, cochairmanship, codirectorship, collaboration, collaborativeness, collectivism, collusion, combo, commensalism, common effort, common enterprise, communalism, communism, communitarianism, community, complicity, concert, concert band, concord, concordance, concurrence, cooperation, cooperativeness, desks, dixieland band, duet, duettino, duo, duumvirate, ecumenicalism, ecumenicism, ecumenism, ensemble, ensemble music, ensemble singing, esprit, esprit de corps, fellow feeling, fellowship, fin, five, five bucks, five dollars, fiver, fivesome, gamelan orchestra, group, harmony, jazz band, joining of forces, joint effort, joint operation, jug band, mass action, military band, morale, mullet, mutual assistance, mutualism, mutuality, octet, orchestra, part music, part singing, part song, pentachord, pentad, pentagon, pentagram, pentahedron, pentameter, pentapody, pentarchy, pentastich, pentathlon, polyphonic music, pooling, pooling of resources, pulling together, quartet, quincunx, quint, quintuplet, ragtime band, reciprocity, rock-and-roll group, septet, septuor, sestet, sextet, skiffle band, solidarity, steel band, street band, string band, string choir, string orchestra, string quartet, strings, swing band, symbiosis, symphony, symphony orchestra, synergism, synergy, team spirit, teamwork, terzet, terzetto, trio, triumvirate, troika, united action, waits, woodwind, woodwind choir, woodwind quartet, woodwindsFor further exploring for "quintet" in Webster Dictionary Online