guitar

A1 Topic:Tools, Machines & Construction

US /ɡɪˈtɑɹ/ UK /ɡɪˈtɑː/ See IPA manual

Freq #2724

Meanings

1

noun
A musical instrument with six strings and a long neck, played with the fingers or a pick.

She learned to play the guitar when she was ten.
2

verb
To play the guitar.

They sang and guitared around the campfire all night.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

axe gat

Word family

Forms guitars

Derived forms banjitarclitarcontraguitarguitaleleguitalinguitar-celloguitar-playerguitarfishguitaristguitaristicguitarlessguitarlike

Related forms capocapotastopick plectrum

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

guitar player
a musician who plays the guitar

Noun + noun

Simplified etymology

Guitar entered English in the mid-16th century through Spanish and French, ultimately from Greek kithara, the name of a lyre-like instrument. Latin borrowed the Greek word as cithara, after which it developed into names for several instruments across Europe, including Middle English citole and gittern and German Zither.

Etymology

Etymology tree Ancient Greek κῐθᾰ́ρᾱ (kĭthắrā)bor. Aramaic קיתראbor. Arabic قِيثَارَة (qīṯāra)bor. Old Spanish guitarra Spanish guitarrabor. English guitar From Spanish guitarra, from Arabic قِيثَارَة (qīṯāra), from Ancient Greek κῐθᾰ́ρᾱ (kĭthắrā). Doublet of cithara, cither, and zither.

guitarra Spanish قِيثَارَة Arabic κῐθᾰ́ρᾱ Ancient Greek

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Tools, Machines & Construction

External links

# guitar

**Type:** Word
**Level:** A1
**Part of speech:** noun, verb
**IPA (US):** /ɡɪˈtɑɹ/
**IPA (UK):** /ɡɪˈtɑː/
**Frequency rank:** 2724

## Meanings
1. A musical instrument with six strings and a long neck, played with the fingers or a pick.
2. To play the guitar.

## Examples
- She learned to play the guitar when she was ten.
- They sang and guitared around the campfire all night.

## Synonyms
- axe
- gat

## Derived Forms
- banjitar
- clitar
- contraguitar
- guitalele
- guitalin
- guitar-cello
- guitar-player
- guitarfish
- guitarist
- guitaristic
- guitarless
- guitarlike

## Related Forms
- capo
- capotasto
- pick
- plectrum

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: guitarra
- Root: قِيثَارَة
- Root: κῐθᾰ́ρᾱ

## Etymology
Etymology tree Ancient Greek κῐθᾰ́ρᾱ (kĭthắrā)bor. Aramaic קיתראbor. Arabic قِيثَارَة (qīṯāra)bor. Old Spanish guitarra Spanish guitarrabor. English guitar From Spanish guitarra, from Arabic قِيثَارَة (qīṯāra), from Ancient Greek κῐθᾰ́ρᾱ (kĭthắrā). Doublet of cithara, cither, and zither.

## AI Etymology
Guitar comes from Spanish guitarra, from Arabic قِيثَارَة (qīṯāra), from Ancient Greek κῐθᾰ́ρᾱ (kĭthắrā). Doublet of cithara, cither, and zither. The historical chain runs through Ancient Greek κῐθᾰ́ρᾱ (kĭthắrā), Aramaic קיתרא, Arabic قِيثَارَة (qīṯāra), Old Spanish guitarra, Spanish guitarra, and English guitar. In current use, the main senses are “A musical instrument with six strings and a long neck, played with the fingers or a pick” and “To play the guitar”.

## Topics
- Tools, Machines & Construction

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