psaltery

psal·ter·y

P0629300 (sôl′tə-rē) also psal·try (sôl′trē)n. pl. psal·ter·ies also psal·tries An ancient stringed instrument played by plucking the strings with the fingers or a plectrum.

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[Middle English psalterie, from Old French, from Latin psaltērium, from Greek psaltērion, from psallein, to play the harp; see pāl- in Indo-European roots.]

psaltery

(ˈsɔːltərɪ) n, pl -teries (Instruments) music an ancient stringed instrument similar to the lyre, but having a trapezoidal sounding board over which the strings are stretched[Old English: see Psalter]

psal•ter•y

(ˈsɔl tə ri)

n., pl. -ter•ies. an ancient musical instrument similar to a zither. [1300–50; Middle English sautrie < Middle French sauter(i)e < Late Latin psaltērium; see Psalter]

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

psaltery - an ancient stringed instrument similar to the lyre or zither but having a trapezoidal sounding board under the stringsstringed instrument - a musical instrument in which taut strings provide the source of sound

Translations