Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. An ancient stringed instrument played by plucking the strings with the fingers or a plectrum.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. A musical instrument of the zither group, having several or many strings variously tuned, which are sounded by the finger with or without the aid of a plectrum. Its use has been extensive, beginning in Biblical times, and continuing to the seventeenth century. It is similar to the dulcimer, except that its tone is produced by twitching or picking instead of by striking. It differs from the harp proper in having a sound-board behind and parallel with the strings. In some cases two or three strings tuned in unison were provided for a single tone.
- n. Same as psalter.
- n. The term is loosely applied to a variety of stringed instruments, some of them lyres or harps, rather than zithers.
Wiktionary
- n. An ancient musical instrument, similar to a dulcimer or a zither, and played by plucking the strings with the fingers or a plectrum.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. A stringed instrument of music used by the Hebrews, the form of which is not known.
WordNet 3.0
- n. an ancient stringed instrument similar to the lyre or zither but having a trapezoidal sounding board under the strings
Etymologies
- From Ancient Greek ψαλτήριον (psalterion) “stringed instrument, psaltery, harp”, from ψάλλω (psallo) “to touch sharply, to pluck, to pull, to twitch” and in the case of the strings of musical instruments, “to play a stringed instrument with the fingers, and not with the plectron” (Wiktionary)
- Middle English psalterie, from Old French, from Latin psaltērium, from Greek psaltērion, from psallein, to play the harp. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“The sê, or psaltery, is made on the principle of the ch'in, and like that instrument has been made the subject of numerous allegorical comparisons.”
“In the Middle Ages there was an instrument called the psaltery, apparently some sort of a four-sided harp strung with metal strings.”
A Popular History of the Art of Music From the Earliest Times Until the Present
“There is no indication of 'psaltery' having accompanied the recitation of canonical gāthās.”
“The '' 'psaltery' '' is an old stringed instrument, a member of the [[zither]] family, which is like the [[dulcimer]] in that it consists of a sound box over which tuneds trings are stretched, however these are plucked instead of struck.”
“The '' 'psaltery' '' is an old stringed instrument, a member of the [[zither]] family, which is like the [[dulcimer]] in that it consists of a sound box over which tuness trings are stretched, however these are plucked instead of struck.”
“The term "psaltery", from the [[Latin]] "'' psalterium ''", reveals its perceived similarity with the instrument of the [[psalms]] in [[medieval]] times.”
“The monastery of Besdin was founded in 1539 and a Serb-Slav psaltery which is kept there has, on p. 270, the following words: "In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost.”
“This initial was traditionally decorated with a depiction of David playing his psaltery. 79 That the psalms were associated with the biblical figure and his instrument was not lost on Dominican women.”
Sensual Encounters: Monastic Women and Spirituality in Medieval Germany
“They received their name from the psaltery, the instrument for which the biblical King David was said to have composed the songs.”
Sensual Encounters: Monastic Women and Spirituality in Medieval Germany
“Besides, he had a bow in his other hand, and the only instrument Kellen knew that used a bow was a psaltery.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘psaltery’.
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phrontistery - p
from phrontistery.info
pustule, purulence, pushful, purser, purpureal, putative, purpure, purpresture, purloin, purline, purlieu, purlicue and 1766 more...
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250 Further Spelling Words
Another compilation of spelling words suitable for intermediate to advanced spellers.
venturi, aesir, affenpinscher, rottweiler, amanuensis, balletomane, hansard, sangfroid, yukata, capriccio, cuisse, heriot and 237 more...
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Logolepsy
"Luciferous Logolepsy is a collection of over 9,000 obscure English words. Though the definition of an 'English' word might seem to be straightforward, it is not. There exist so many adopted, deriv...
Anschauung, Areopagus, Argus, Briarean, Dei gratia, Dei judicium, Deo volente, Duecento, Foehn, Geflugelte Worte, Gegenschein, Hakenkreuz and 9230 more...
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nachchba's Words
stentorian, blasé, ennui, concinnity, melee, photokeratitis, skiffle, refulgence, mongrel, fakir, caid, eudaimonia and 215 more...
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billfence's Words
quotidian, flux, sawbuck, horsefeathers, chalcedony, harp, no, fox, tennis, badminton, flue, charm and 186 more...
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Zing Went the Strings
lute, guitar, mandolin, violin, banjo, balalaika, sitar, pipa, autoharp, zither, kantele, guqin and 329 more...
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Literarie: The Tragedy of Coriolanus
A play by William Shakespeare.
sufferance, cram, garner, embracement, freelier, mammock, cambric, stitchery, cloven, murrain, manifest housekeeper, a crack'd drachma! and 88 more...
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Biblical Words
Tweets
Looking for tweets for psaltery.
bilby "The trumpets, sackbuts, psalteries, and fifes,
Tabors and cymbals, and the shouting Romans,
Make the sun dance. Hark you!"
- William Shakespeare, 'The Tragedy of Coriolanus'. Aug 29, 2009