noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   An archaic musical instrument whose exact form is uncertain, generally shown with four strings
2. 2
   a 16th century musical instrument resembling a guitar with a pear-shaped soundbox and wire strings wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms

cithercitherncitterncitterngittern

Etymology

Probably a French diminutive form of Latin cithara, and not from Latin cista (“a box”).

Related phrases

musical instrument

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.