sitar
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of sitar
First recorded in 1835–45, sitar is from the Hindi word sitār
Explanation
A sitar is a stringed instrument used in classical Indian music. Music you hear at an Indian restaurant or in a Bollywood movie probably features the distinctive twangy drone of the sitar. Although thousands of years old, the sitar got famous in the West in the 1960s when bands like the Kinks and the Beatles used sitars in popular songs. Sitars have long necks and as many as 21 strings. It's like a guitar, but in addition to the six or seven strings that a sitar player plucks, there are more that vibrate beneath the frets, called "sympathetic strings." Despite all these strings, the word sitar means "three-stringed" in Persian.
Vocabulary lists containing sitar
Music to My Ears: Instrumental Vocab
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Musical Instruments - Middle School
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Pet
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Children aged five and above learn best when there are other children around them, says Marija Sitar, a child counsellor.
From BBC • Feb. 4, 2022
“We see them in different habitats, functioning in ecologically different ways, living differently,” Sitar said.
From Seattle Times • Aug. 24, 2021
In a statement on the Storm Trysail Club’s website , Leonard Sitar and John Fisher said the annual sailing race became unsustainable because of declining participation and dependence on sponsorship.
From Washington Times • May 29, 2017
“It’s no longer a very dark black and has faded to a very light brown,” Sitar said.
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 22, 2016
"Aren't you going to kill them?" asked Sitar, amazement in every feature and a puzzled expression in her splendid eyes.
From The Skylark of Space by Smith, E. E. (Edward Elmer)
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
