Psalterion

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A musical instrument of ancient origin resembling a small harp or lyre, used historically in religious or ceremonial music; also refers to a collection of sacred songs or psalms arranged for worship; sometimes denotes a stringed instrument played by plucking or strumming
2. An ancient stringed instrument similar to a harp or zither, traditionally employed in spiritual or liturgical contexts; in a literary sense, a compilation of psalms or sacred hymns for devotional use; alternatively describes a plucked instrument with multiple strings producing melodic sounds
3. A vintage plucked string instrument akin to a harp or lyre used primarily in sacred music settings; can signify a book of psalms for chanting during religious ceremonies; also relates to any similar melodic stringed apparatus played by hand

Etymology: The Greek word "psaltērion" originally meant a stringed instrument plucked with the fingers, and it came from "psallein," a verb meaning "to pluck" or "to twang" a string. Its close relatives in English are "psalter," "psalterium," and "psaltery," all doublets that entered the language by different routes and ended up with slightly different meanings. The Greek term was adopted into Latin as "psalterium," which was then taken into Old French as "salterion" before reaching Middle French and then English. The instrument itself was a plucked zither-like or harp-like device, and the sacred association came later. Because the Greek and Latin words were used for the harp that accompanied Hebrew psalms in the Septuagint and Vulgate translations, the same word was applied both to the instrument and to the book of psalms. This is why one word can name a musical instrument and a collection of sacred songs.

Synonyms: psaltery, zither