Mandore

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A stringed musical instrument similar to a lute with a rounded back and typically four to six courses of strings; a small mandolin-like instrument used in early music ensembles; an ancient plucked instrument with a pear-shaped body and fretted neck employed in Renaissance and Baroque music
2. A plucked instrument resembling a lute featuring a curved back and multiple strings arranged in pairs; a historical stringed instrument related to the mandolin family; a folk instrument dating from medieval times characterized by a distinct tonal quality and compact shape
3. A fretted, plucked instrument with a bowl-shaped body and several double strings, associated with early European music; a predecessor to modern mandolins with a soft, mellifluous sound; a compact lute-family instrument used in historical and folk music traditions

Etymology: The mandore is a small, short-necked lute with a rounded body, popular in the Renaissance and used for playing continuo and melodic parts. Its name came into English from French "mandore," and the instrument it names is itself a relative of the larger lute family, which is why the word often appears alongside "lute" and "theorbo" in older music. Because the source records only the French route, the English word is a straightforward borrowing: the form arrived with the instrument, and English kept the French spelling and stress largely intact. Readers encountering the term in historical music writing are therefore reading a French-derived name for an instrument that flourished across Europe.

Synonyms: mandora, lute, stringed instrument