zither

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a stringed instrument with many strings stretched across a flat, usually horizontal soundbox and played by plucking or strumming

   The musician placed the zither on the table and plucked a bright arpeggio.

2. 2
   noun

   organology: any neckless chordophone whose strings run across or parallel to its body, including instruments from many musical traditions

   The museum displayed a Chinese guqin as one member of the broad zither family.

3. 3
   verb

   rare: to play a zither

   The ensemble zithers softly beneath the singer's opening verse.

Borrowed from German Zither, from Old High German zithara, ultimately Latin cithara and Greek kithara, a stringed instrument. It is related by descent or borrowing to cither, cithara, and guitar, though the modern instruments differ in form.

Topics

External links

• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary
• Google Images