cithara

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin cithara (“kind of lyre”) and directly borrowed from Ancient Greek κιθάρα (kithára, “kind of lyre”).^[2][3][4] In Greek it is an alteration, after λύρα (lúra), of κίθαρις (kítharis), of unknown origin: a borrowing has often been suggested, but the OED finds no supporting evidence and no donor language.^[2] Klein, and Etymonline more cautiously, connected it with a Persian source of sitar,^[5][6] but the OED considers the origin of sitar apparently unrelated.^[2] Barnhart calls guitar and zither doublets,^[3] and the OED compares the earlier English cither, citole, cittern and gittern.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

An ancient Greek and Roman stringed instrument like the lyre: 1634, in T. Carew's Cœlum Britanicum.^[2][7] Barnhart and Etymonline give 1789 instead,^[3][6] and the Shorter Oxford, the Oxford Dictionary of English and Collins date it to the late 18th century.^[4][8][9] The Latin noun appears earlier in English contexts, as in Trevisa's "The harpe hatte cithara" (before 1398).^[2]

Semantic evolution

The word has stayed close to its one ancient referent, though the OED notes occasional use for other plucked instruments of similar form,^[2] and Merriam-Webster Unabridged adds an early medieval instrument that probably resembled the harp.^[7] Etymonline explains how the same ancient name spread: after classical times the instrument developed many local varieties, each keeping a form of the name, and English borrowed several of them for guitar-like instruments.^[6] English writers could also use the Greek-shaped spelling kithara.^[9][4]

Timeline

• before 1398 – cithara as a Latin term in English text, in Trevisa's translation of Bartholomaeus Anglicus.^[2]
• 1599 – Cythera, in R. Allott's Wits Theater, again given as the Latin name of the harp.^[2]
• 1634 – the ancient Greek and Roman stringed instrument.^[2][7] Barnhart and Etymonline date this to 1789.^[3][6]

Meanings

Noun

1. An ancient Greek and Roman stringed instrument of the lyre family, with a wooden soundboard, two arms rising from the soundbox and seven to eleven strings, played with a plectrum.^[7][4][9][3]
2. An early medieval instrument, probably resembling the harp; also, occasionally, other plucked instruments of similar form.^[7][2]

Word family

• citharist

Related words

• citole
• guitar
• zither
• cither
• cittern
• gittern

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
4. ^ a b c d Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
6. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
7. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
8. ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
9. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins