gittern
/ˈɡɪtəːn
/noun historical
A lute-like medieval stringed instrument, forerunner of the guitar.A gittern, most musicologists have come to agree, was the earliest form of what we know today as a guitar....
- There is definite documentary evidence that both the citole and the gittern were normally strung in gut.
- For additional information about gitterns, visit the Gittern section of the Early String Instruments page.
Origin
Late Middle English: from Old French guiterne; perhaps related to cittern and guitar.