Guitarra

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A stringed musical instrument typically played with the fingers or a pick, often associated with various music genres
2. It possesses a hollow body and frets, allowing for diverse melodies and chords
3. Often used in both solo performances and ensemble settings, it is a fundamental instrument in many cultures worldwide

Etymology: The guitar's name is older than the instrument as we know it. Spanish "guitarra" descends from Latin "cithara," a lyre-like stringed instrument of ancient Greece and Rome, which was borrowed into Greek as "kithara." Along the way the word passed through Arabic, where "qitara" was applied to a family of plucked lutes, and Arabic influence on Iberia is the usual route by which the word reached Spanish. The Latin ancestor also gave English "cittern" and "zither," which are close cousins of the guitar. The Spanish word was probably in use by the late Middle Ages for instruments with a body and a neck. The modern six-string guitar took its form in Spain during the 18th and 19th centuries, so the name is far older than the shape it now names. Early Spanish "guitarra" instruments were often four-stringed, and the word covered several different instruments before it settled on one.

Synonyms: guitar