Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A 16th-century guitar with a flat, pear-shaped body.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun See
cithern .
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun (Mus.) An instrument shaped like a lute, but strung with wire and played with a quill or plectrum.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun music A
stringed instrument similar to amandolin which is an early form ofguitar .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a 16th century musical instrument resembling a guitar with a pear-shaped soundbox and wire strings
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
Support
Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word cittern.
Examples
-
At Gubbio, the cittern is depicted alongside the architect's set square/level, the hourglass, and divider, and directly beneath the term ingenioq, implying that one's natural talent (s) should be guided by discipline and right pleasure. back
Architecture and Memory: The Renaissance Studioli of Federico da Montefeltro 2008
-
"The Council regrets, we cannot permit you to sell this ... 'cittern' here."
-
"I am certain that this 'cittern' is a lovely instrument, cherished in your homeland.
Tran Siberian Michael J. Solender 2010
-
"The Council regrets, we cannot permit you to sell this" 'cittern' here."
Tran Siberian Michael J. Solender 2010
-
"I am certain that this 'cittern' is a lovely instrument, cherished in your homeland.
-
His guitar may be a crutch but is an awfully artful one, akin to a medieval minstrel's cittern accompanying a sung ballad.
Poet, Prophet and Puzzle David Yezzi 2011
-
Urania is represented by the armillary sphere, Euterpe by flutes, Thalia by the rebec, Melpomene by the hunting horn, Terpsichore by the cittern, Erato by the jingle ring, and Polyhymnia by the organ.
Architecture and Memory: The Renaissance Studioli of Federico da Montefeltro 2008
-
Consistent with Ficino's recommendations, a drawing by Carpaccio suggests that many (if not all) of the instruments represented in the studioli were likely performed therein, including those instruments bearing connotations of the "music of the spheres," such as the clavichord, organ, and lute. 246 Other instruments, like the cittern found at Gubbio, were as readily available in a tavern as in a princely studiolo.
Architecture and Memory: The Renaissance Studioli of Federico da Montefeltro 2008
-
The cittern appeared to Lycaelon's eyes like some sort of giant, misshapen lute-flat on both sides, its sound box pulled into a sort of peculiar sand-glass shape.
Tran Siberian Michael J. Solender 2010
-
Associated with Venus as well as Terpsichore, the cittern was strung with metal wire to ensure reliable tuning for impromptu use. 247 With their wood paneling, one can imagine that the studioli offer resonant settings for listening to music, which should be counted among the duke's activities in the Urbino studiolo.
Architecture and Memory: The Renaissance Studioli of Federico da Montefeltro 2008
Comments
Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.