LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · femininefirst declension

cithara

cithara f (genitive citharae)
Classical[ˈkɪ.tʰa.ra]Ecclesiastical[ˈt͡ʃiː.ta.ra]
Mille Verba core vocabulary

Meaning

  1. femininecithara, cittern, zither, lyre, lute, guitar
  2. New Latinabbreviationellipsisfeminineellipsis of cithara hispānica (“guitar”)

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

īnstrūmentum artis: fīla eius digitīs tacta sonant.
cithara -ae f — in Mille Verba, Artēs et Litterae
īnstrūmentum chordārum
cithara -ae (f) — in Epistulae, ch. 10
īnstrūmentum carminum, nervōs habet
cithara -ae (f) — in Metamorphoses I, ch. 3

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativecitharacitharae
genitivecitharaecitharārum
dativecitharaecitharīs
accusativecitharamcitharās
ablativecitharācitharīs
vocativecitharacitharae

cĭthăra, ae, f., = κιθάρα,
I. the cithara, cithern, guitar, or lute (very freq. in the poets, esp. in Hor.), Lucr. 2, 28; 4, 981; Tib. 2, 3, 12; 2, 5, 2; Verg. A. 6, 120; 9, 776; Hor. C. 1, 15, 15; 2, 12, 4; Varr. L. L. S, § 61 Müll.; id. R. R. 2, 1, 3; Auct. Her. 4, 47, 60; Plin. 7, 56, 57, § 204; Quint. 1, 10, 3; 1, 10, 10; 2, 8, 15; Tac. A. 14, 14; 15, 65 al.—
II. Meton., the music of the cithara, or, in gen., of a stringed instrument, the art of playing on the cithara, Prop. 2 (3), 10, 10; Verg. A. 12, 394; Hor. C. 1, 24, 4; id. S. 2, 3, 104 and 105.

Origins

Borrowed from Ancient Greek κιθάρα (kithára), with the common vacillation in the unstressed /er~ar/, as in Caesar- ~ Caeser-, hilaris ~ hilerus, materis ~ mataris.

Elsewhere
  • Englishcithara
  • Englishcither
  • Frenchcithare
  • GermanZitherfrom Old High German zitera
  • Portuguesecítara
  • Spanishcítara
  • Danishciter
  • Dutchciterfrom Middle Dutch cythaer
Balkano-Romance
  • Romanianceteră
Italo-Romance
  • Italiancetera, cetra
Northern Gallo-Romance
  • Frenchcistrefrom Middle French citre
Southern Gallo-Romance
  • Old Occitansedra
  • Old Occitancidra
Ibero-Romance
  • Old Spanishcedra

Quick answers

What does cithara mean in Latin?
cithara, a noun, means “cithara, cittern, zither, lyre, lute, guitar; ellipsis of cithara hispānica (“guitar”)”.
What is the genitive of cithara?
The genitive singular is citharae. cithara is feminine, first declension.
How do you pronounce cithara?
In classical Latin, [ˈkɪ.tʰa.ra]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [ˈt͡ʃiː.ta.ra].