psaltery

English

Alternative forms

• psaltry
• sawtry (obsolete)

Etymology

A learned alteration of Middle English sauterie, sautrie (rarely psautry), from Old French psalterie, from Latin psaltērium, from Ancient Greek ψαλτήριον (psaltḗrion, “stringed instrument, psaltery, harp”), from ψάλλω (psállō, “to touch sharply, to pluck, to pull, to twitch” and in the case of the strings of musical instruments, “to play a stringed instrument with the fingers, and not with the plectron”). Doublet of psalter, psalterion, and psalterium. Cognate of psalm and psalmody.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈsɒl.tə.ɹi/, /ˈsɒl.tɹi/, /ˈsɔːl-/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈsɔl.tə.ɹi/, /ˈsɑl.tə.ɹi/

Noun

psaltery (plural psalteries)

1. (music) A zither-like musical instrument consisting of a soundboard with multiple strings, played by plucking the strings with the fingers or a plectrum.

   Synonyms: psalterion, psalterium, (archaic or obsolete) psalter

   • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Nehemiah 12:27:

     And at the dedication of the wall of Ieruſalem, they ſought the Leuites out of all their places, to bꝛing them to Ieruſalem, to keepe the dedication with gladneſſe, both with thankeſgiuings and with ſinging, with cymbals, pſalteries, and with harpes.

Usage notes

In the King James Version of the Bible, "psaltery" is used as a translation for certain words whose referent isn't known: the Hebrew כְּלִי (kli) and נֵבֶל (nével), and the Aramaic פְּסַנְתֵּרִין (psanterín).

Derived terms

• bowed psaltery
• psalterist, psalteryist

Related terms

• psalm

Translations

instrument

• Arabic: سُنْطُور آلَةْ مُوسِيقِيَّة (sunṭūr ʔālat mūsīqiyya)
• Bulgarian: псалтерий m (psalterij)
• Catalan: saltiri (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 薩泰里琴／萨泰里琴 (sàtàilǐqín)

• Czech: žalář (cs)
• Estonian: psalteerium
• Finnish: psalttari (fi)
• German: Psalter (de)
• Japanese: プサルタリー (pusarutarī)
• Korean: 프살테리움 (peusalterium), 솔터리 (solteori)
• Kyrgyz: гуслинин (guslinin)
• Macedonian: псалтир (psaltir)
• Manx: claasagh rea m
• Middle English: sauter, sauterie
• Portuguese: saltério
• Romanian: alăută (ro), psalterion (ro)
• Russian: псалтерион (ru) (psalterion)
• Spanish: salterio (es)
• Swedish: psaltare (sv) c
• Tagalog: salterio
• Thai: เครื่องดนตรีโบราณ (kherụ̄̀xngdntrī borāṇ)
• Ukrainian: псалтир (uk) (psaltyr)
• Welsh: saltring m, nabl m

See also

• Appendix:Glossary of chordophones

Anagrams

• Spratley, Tarpleys, plastery, pterylas