cithern

9.9

An old 16th-century string instrument like a guitar with a pear-shaped body and wire strings

noun
/ˈsɪθərn/

Archaic

: cítara

Unlike the modern guitar, the cithern had wire strings and a pear-shaped body.

Examples

The museum displayed a beautifully crafted cithern from the late Renaissance era.
The cithern was popular during the Renaissance.
She learned to play the cithern for a historical music ensemble.
He plays the cithern beautifully.
The museum displayed a beautifully crafted cithern from the late Renaissance era.
Unlike the modern guitar, the cithern had wire strings and a pear-shaped body.
She learned to play the cithern for a historical music ensemble.

Synonyms

cittern

vscithern

Archaic

9.9

A small 16th-century stringed instrument like a guitar with a pear-shaped body and metal strings

is identified by date rather than by wide regional popularity

gittern

vscithern

Archaic

9.9

A small old instrument with strings like an early guitar

is narrower in historical range rather than covering multiple eras

citole

vscithern

Archaic

9.9

A string instrument from the Middle Ages like a small guitar with a rounded body and metal strings

is defined by a single-century origin rather than a long medieval span

cither

vscithern

Archaic

9.9

A small string instrument like a guitar that you play by plucking the strings

is the more narrowly dated form with a pear-shaped body and wire strings

Surface Forms

cithern singular

citherns plural

Etymology

The word cithern comes from the old Greek word kithara, which meant 'lyre' or 'string instrument' and passed into Latin as cithara. It is the same root behind zither and related to guitar, so the name helps you remember it is a small, pear-shaped, wire‑strung instrument from the 1500s.