kantele

American  

[kahn-tuh-luh] / ˈkɑn tə lə /

noun

• kanteles
  plural

1. a traditional Finnish and Karelian zither played by plucking the strings: Finland's national instrument.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• kanteles
  plural

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

kantele

Plucked phrases on the kantele and the strings seem at once delicately spiritual and skittishly angular.

From New York Times ● Nov. 18, 2018

“The bass strings are something like rain; the small strings talk like a whisper,” a vocal quartet sings delicately above trilling strings and piccolo, while the kantele creates a resonant cascade of sound.

From New York Times ● Nov. 12, 2018

And at the very first pitch of the ship the magic kantele was swept overboard by the waves, and Ahto, the sea-god, caught it and carried it off to his home beneath the waves.

From Finnish Legends for English Children by R. Eivind

But he only raked up shells and seaweed, and found no trace of the kantele.

From Finnish Legends for English Children by R. Eivind

But Wainamoinen began to play upon his kantele, and so wonderfully sweet were thep.

From Finnish Legends for English Children by R. Eivind

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