Definition

1. Noun:
   • A 16th-century musical instrument: A stringed instrument from the Renaissance period, resembling a guitar with a pear-shaped soundbox and wire strings.
   • A type of zither: A musical stringed instrument with strings stretched over a flat, shallow sounding board. It is typically laid flat on a surface or held in the lap and played by plucking the strings with a plectrum and the fingers.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • The museum's collection includes a beautifully preserved cither from the 1500s.
  • She learned to play a traditional folk tune on the cither.

Advanced Usage

• Historical Context: The term "cither" is often used in discussions of early music and historical instrument collections to distinguish specific wire-strung, pear-shaped instruments from later developments.
  • The ensemble specializes in performing Renaissance music using authentic instruments like the lute and cither.

Variants and Related Words

• Cittern (n): A variant spelling and common alternative name for the same instrument.
  • The cittern was popular in Elizabethan England.
• Zither (n): A broader category of stringed instruments with a flat soundboard, which includes the cither/cittern as one type.
  • The concert featured music from various zither-family instruments.

Synonyms

• Cittern: The most direct synonym.
• Stringed instrument: A general term for instruments producing sound from vibrating strings.

Related Phrases

• To play the cither: The standard phrase for performing on this instrument.
  • He can play the cither quite skillfully.

Noun

1. a 16th century musical instrument resembling a guitar with a pear-shaped soundbox and wire strings
2. a musical stringed instrument with strings stretched over a flat sounding board; it is laid flat and played with a plectrum and with fingers