Cither

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A stringed musical instrument similar to a zither, typically having a flat wooden soundboard and multiple strings stretched across it for plucking
2. An ancient or traditional instrument consisting of numerous strings stretched across a frame or box, played by plucking to produce melodic sound
3. A folk musical device with strings arranged over a resonant body, played by hand to create harmony and rhythm in various musical styles

Etymology: The Greek "kithara" was a seven-stringed lyre plucked with the fingers, and the instrument was so closely tied to Greek musical life that its name travelled into Latin as "cithara" and from there into English. Early English speakers used "cither" for the same ancient kind of lyre, so the word has always pointed backward to classical antiquity rather than to any instrument in use in medieval or modern Europe. The most striking thing about "cither" is that it is a doublet of "guitar" and "zither." All three descend from the same Greek source, but each reached its modern form by a different route: "guitar" came through Spanish and Arabic-influenced forms, and "zither" came through German. The three words were thus separated by centuries of parallel borrowing and adaptation, yet they still share one ancestor in the Greek lyre.

Synonyms: zither, psaltery, dulcimer, autoharp, harp