zither

noun

zith·​er ˈzi-t͟hər How to pronounce zither (audio) -thər How to pronounce zither (audio)
: a stringed instrument having usually 30 to 40 strings over a shallow horizontal soundboard and played with pick and fingers
zitherist noun

Illustration of zither

Illustration of zither

Examples of zither in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Visit favorites include the tea ceremony, hina doll display, ikebana flower arrangements, and koto (Japanese zither) performances, along with storytelling and hands-on workshops. Duante Beddingfield, Detroit Free Press, 1 Mar. 2024 Indeed, there are few Indonesian traces in East Africa besides some musical instruments like the xylophone and the zither and the Indonesian crops discussed earlier. Jared Diamond, Discover Magazine, 17 Apr. 2023 Gone, too, were their instruments: drums, flutes, gongs, two varieties of zither, and a towering mouth organ with pipes like city spires. Julian Lucas, The New Yorker, 3 July 2023 Already, Wang Jue’s erratic score, which has its generic passages but is mostly an eccentric, atonal pleasure, is establishing a feeling of unease, with vaguely menacing drones brewing behind twanging strings that sound like Ennio Morricone got his hands on a zither while in a bad mood. Jessica Kiang, Variety, 9 Nov. 2021 The zither from Germany. Rob Sheffield, Rolling Stone, 14 Oct. 2021 Jenny Hu plays Chinese zither. Luann Gibbs, The Enquirer, 22 Sep. 2019 Arman said that at some point his father taught himself to play the Santoor, a Persian instrument akin to a zither or a hammered dulcimer. Tom Teicholz, Forbes, 31 Dec. 2022 Leontovych’s more dramatic works emulated the tradition of the Kobzars, the Ukrainian bards and history bearers who accompanied themselves on the bandura, a multistringed plucked instrument similar to a zither. New York Times, 13 May 2022

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'zither.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

German, from Old High German zitara, cithara, from Latin cithara cithara — more at cither

First Known Use

1831, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of zither was in 1831

Dictionary Entries Near zither

Cite this Entry

“Zither.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/zither. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

zither

noun
: a stringed instrument with thirty to forty tuned strings that are plucked with the fingers or with a pick

More from Merriam-Webster on zither

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