zith·er 
(zĭthər, zĭth-) also zith·ern (-ərn)
(zĭthər, zĭth-) also zith·ern (-ərn)n.
A musical instrument composed of a flat sound box with about 30 to 40 strings stretched over it and played horizontally with the fingertips, a plectrum, or a bow, or set into vibration by the wind, as in the Aeolian harp.
[German, from Middle High German *zitter, from Old High German zitera, from Latin cithara, cithara, from Greek kitharā.]
zither·ist n.
zither