Clavicytherium
//ˌklæv.ə.saɪˈθɪə.ɹɪ.əm// noun
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A harpsichord in which the soundboard and strings are mounted vertically facing the player.
"[T]he harpſichord is an improvement of the Clavicitherium, an inſtrument known in England in Gower's time by the name of the Citole, from Cistella, a little cheſt."
Example
More examples"[T]he harpſichord is an improvement of the Clavicitherium, an inſtrument known in England in Gower's time by the name of the Citole, from Cistella, a little cheſt."
Etymology
From Late Latin clavicytherium, from Medieval Latin clāvis (“key”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kleh₂w- (“crook, hook, peg”)) + cithara (“cithara, guitar, lute, lyre”) + -ium (“suffix forming nouns”).
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.