Origins of the word "guitar" from Paul's Guitar Museum

English - Guitar
French - Guitare
German - Gitarre
Spanish - Guitarra
Italian - Chitarra
Portuguese - Violão
Ancient Greek - Kithara

One of my favorite enigmas is where did the word guitar come from???

Maybe from a middle ages instrument called a guittern?
see picture: http://www.guitarsite.com/history2.htm

What about a Hellenistic lyra called a Kithara ? (citharis) where the bridge is glued on just like todays guitar? The word KITARA comes from 7th century BC Both Plato & Pollux mention the lyra & kitara. Aristoxeno's statement that the kitaris & kitara are not the same - that the kitaris is a lyra. Aristotle points expressly to the kitara as the instrument witch belongs primarily to the games & virtuosi, & which is not suited to the education of youth.

Here are a couple of Helenistic "Kithara's". Note on the side of "Kithara" there is a ribbon tying the "plectrum" to the "bridge"
see picture: http://www.guitarsite.com/history2.htm

The instrument KISSAR is still used by several north African peoples.

Other connections we know about are Ud / Lute / Luthier.
Also Guitar / Kythara / Kitara Kinawa (Moorish lute or African Gunbri)?
Kitarra (Basque guitar) / Qitara (Arabic lute of European origin) / Chitarra (It) / Guiterne (Old Fr)"

Also in Paul's Guitar Museum:

• when did the FRET first appear?
• origins of the term LUTHIER
• In the renaissance period, pre-runner of todays steel string: cittern
• many of the terms are derived from an animal...
• First pictorially depicted stringed instrument in human history
• The oldest instrument with neck & fingerboard is 2500 BC
• Stringed instruments with fingerboards, 1500 BC with sound holes, frets & incurved sides!
• Guitar-shaped Lute
• Theorbo or Lute?
• Archlute
• Theorbo
• Ancient History

More Guitar History