dulcimer

Meaning

Noun

• A stringed instrument, with strings stretched across a sounding board, usually trapezoidal. It is played on the lap or horizontally on a table. Some have their own legs. These musical instruments are played by plucking on the strings (traditionally with a quill) or by tapping on them (in the case of the hammer dulcimers).

Origin

• From Old French doulcemelle, probably from Latin dulce melos, from Ancient Greek μέλος.