guitar

Alternative forms

• guittar (obsolete)
• gittar (eye dialect)

Etymology

From Spanish guitarra, from Arabic قِيثَارَة (qīṯāra), from Ancient Greek κῐθᾰ́ρᾱ (kĭthắrā). Doublet of cithara, cither, and zither.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ɡɪˈtɑː(ɹ)/

  • Audio (UK):

    (file)

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ɡɪˈtɑɹ/

  • Audio (US):

    (file)

  • (Southern US) IPA^(key): /ˈɡɪ.tɑɹ/
• Hyphenation: gui‧tar
• Rhymes: -ɑː(ɹ)

Noun

guitar (plural guitars)

2. (music) A stringed musical instrument, of European origin, usually with a fretted fingerboard and six strings, played with the fingers or a plectrum (guitar pick).

   Learning to strum the guitar rhythmically is essential.

   She was carrying her guitar in a fancily-decorated case.

   The band is looking for a new guitar player.

3. (music) Any type of musical instrument of the lute family, characterized by a flat back, along with a neck whose upper surface is in the same plane as the soundboard, with strings along the neck and parallel to the soundboard.

Verb

guitar (third-person singular simple present guitars, present participle guitaring, simple past and past participle guitared)

1. (informal) To play the guitar.
   • 2020, Becky Manawatu, Auē, page 139:

     We guitared and drummed and head banged and pianoed.

See also

• Appendix:Glossary of chordophones

Anagrams

• Ugarit

Etymology

From guit +‎ -ar.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic) [ɡiˈta]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [ɡiˈtaɾ]

Verb

guitar (first-person singular present guito, first-person singular preterite guití, past participle guitat)

1. (intransitive) to kick, to buck (of horses and mules)

Further reading

• “guitar” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɡitar/, [ˈɡ̊itˢɑːˀ]

Noun

guitar c (singular definite guitaren, plural indefinite guitarer)

1. guitar

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [ɣi˧˧ taː˧˧]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [ɣɪj˧˧ taː˧˧]
• (Saigon) IPA^(key): [ɣɪj˧˧ taː˧˧]
• Phonetic spelling: ghi ta

Noun

guitar

1. Alternative spelling of ghi-ta (“guitar”)