gittern

Etymology

From Old French guiterne, ultimately from Old Spanish guitarra.

Noun

gittern (plural gitterns)

1. (music) A small, quill-plucked, gut-strung musical instrument, most commonly with three to four strings in doubles courses; it is a flat-backed predecessor of the guitar, and it originated around the 13th century, coming to Europe via Moorish Spain.

Verb

gittern (third-person singular simple present gitterns, present participle gitterning, simple past and past participle gitterned)

1. To play on the gittern.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Milton to this entry?)

Anagrams

• retting