dulcimer

[ duhl-suh-mer ]
/ ˈdʌl sə mər /

noun

Also called hammered dulcimer, hammer dulcimer. a trapezoidal zither with metal strings that are struck with light hammers.
Also called mountain dulcimer. a modern folk instrument related to the guitar and plucked with the fingers.

Origin of dulcimer

1560–70; alteration of Middle English dowcemere < Middle French doulcemer, dissimilated variant of doulcemele < Old Italian dolcimelo, dolzemele < Latin dulce melos sweet song. See dulcet, melic

Words nearby dulcimer

dulce et decorum est pro patria mori, dulce gulf, dulcet, dulciana, dulcify, dulcimer, dulcinea, dulcitol, dulcy, dulia, dull

Example sentences from the Web for dulcimer

British Dictionary definitions for dulcimer

dulcimer
/ (ˈdʌlsɪmə) /

noun music

a tuned percussion instrument consisting of a set of strings of graduated length stretched over a sounding board and struck with a pair of hammers
an instrument used in US folk music, consisting of an elliptical body, a fretted fingerboard, and usually three strings plucked with a goose quill

Word Origin for dulcimer

C15: from Old French doulcemer, from Old Italian dolcimelo, from dolce sweet, from Latin dulcis + -melo, perhaps from Greek melos song