zither
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Meaning
a musical instrument with strings stretched over a flat wooden box, played with the fingers or a plectrum.
Usage
the haunting melody was played on a traditional alpine zither.
she learned to play the zither, mastering its distinctive, resonant sound.
the collection featured various historical string instruments, including a beautifully crafted zither.
Etymology
The word 'zither' entered English in the mid-19th century from German, where it is spelled the same. The German term derives from Latin 'cithara', which itself originates from the Ancient Greek 'kithára', a stringed instrument. The Greek term is likely a loan from a pre-greek mediterranean language, reflecting the instrument's ancient and widespread cultural diffusion. The Modern English meaning refers specifically to the central European folk instrument, preserving the core semantic link to its classical ancestors as a plucked string instrument.
Analysis
This word is a loanword adopted as a single, unanalyzable unit in English.