Psaltery
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 A zither-like musical instrument consisting of a soundboard with multiple strings, played by plucking the strings with the fingers or a plectrum.
"And at the dedication of the wall of Ieruſalem, they ſought the Leuites out of all their places, to bꝛing them to Ieruſalem, to keepe the dedication with gladneſſe, both with thankeſgiuings and with ſinging, with cymbals, pſalteries, and with harpes."
- 2 an ancient stringed instrument similar to the lyre or zither but having a trapezoidal sounding board under the strings wordnet
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
More examples"The sound is quite similar to that of a dulcimer, psaltery, or zither."
Etymology
A learned alteration of Middle English sauterie, sautrie (rarely psautry), from Old French psalterie, from Latin psaltērium, from Ancient Greek ψαλτήριον (psaltḗrion, “stringed instrument, psaltery, harp”), from ψάλλω (psállō, “to touch sharply, to pluck, to pull, to twitch” and in the case of the strings of musical instruments, “to play a stringed instrument with the fingers, and not with the plectron”). Doublet of psalter, psalterion, and psalterium. Cognate of psalm and psalmody.
Related phrases
More for "psaltery"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.