sitar

American  

[si-tahr] / sɪˈtɑr /

noun

1. a lute of India with a small, pear-shaped body and a long, broad, fretted neck.

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sitar British  

/ ˈsɪtɑː, sɪˈtɑː /

noun

1. a stringed musical instrument, esp of India, having a long neck, a rounded body, and movable frets. The main strings, three to seven in number, overlie other sympathetic strings, the tuning depending on the raga being performed

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• sitarist
  noun

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.

Example Sentences

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

Officials have not yet estimated the damage from the fire, but the recycling yard’s products are a “total loss,” Sitar said.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 22, 2016

There was a peal of delighted laughter from Sitar and she spoke to one of the servants, who drew dark curtains across the windows and pressed a switch, flooding the room with brilliant white light.

From The Skylark of Space by Smith, E. E. (Edward Elmer)