Etymograph

English

cithara

Cithara comes from Latin cithara ‘cithara, cittern, zither, lyre, lute, guitar’, and goes back to Ancient Greek κιθάρα.

  1. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκιθάρα1kithára‘lyre’
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcithara1‘cithara, cittern, zither, lyre, lute, guitar’
  3. Englishtodaycithara1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English cithara

Lineage

  1. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκιθάραWiktionary, English citharakithára‘lyre’
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcitharaWiktionary, English cithara‘cithara, cittern, zither, lyre, lute, guitar’
  3. EnglishtodaycitharaWiktionary, English cithara

Linked words

through Latin cithara ‘cithara, cittern, zither, lyre, lute, guitar’

zither, 4 more

Today it means

noun An ancient Greek stringed instrument, which could be considered a forerunner of the guitar.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “cithara”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Ancient Greek κιθάρα / cithara

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