zither, stringed musical instrument, derived from the psaltery and the dulcimer. It has a flat sound box over which are stretched from 30 to 45 strings; these are plucked with the fingers and a plectrum. In the 18th cent. one or both sides began to be curved to produce greater sonority. The term zither is also used generically for various instruments, including the dulcimer, the psaltery, and several Asian instruments. The dulcimer in use in the Kentucky mountains is, in fact, a zither.

Plucked or struck stringed instrument with a shallow soundbox. The common Austrian zither is roughly rectangular and has 30–40 strings; it is placed on the player's knees or on a table. Several melody strings pass over a fretted fingerboard; the player's left hand stops these strings, while the right hand plucks with the fingers and a thumb plectrum. Zither is also a generic term for stringed instruments, the strings of which are fastened across a frame that lacks any projecting neck or arms. The larger zither family thus includes instruments such as the Aeolian harp, autoharp, cimbalom, dulcimer, koto, and even the clavichord, harpsichord, and piano.

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