sitar

[ si-tahr ]

noun

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

sitar

/ 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

Derived Forms

• siˈtarist, noun

Other Words From

• si·tarist noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of sitar¹

First recorded in 1835–45, sitar is from the Hindi word sitār

Word History and Origins

Origin of sitar¹

from Hindi sitār, literally: three-stringed

Example Sentences

He said he knew the famous theme tune had captured the essence of 007 after switching the main riff from a sitar to an electric guitar.

From BBC

With echoey chords topped by electric sitar, the track is plush, slow and deeply, inconsolably despondent.

From New York Times

The album’s closing cut, “Rosa,” is a traditional merengue that Pabön turned into a psychedelic experiment with the addition of Indian sitar.

From Los Angeles Times

“It’s a lot of talking going on while I sing my song,” she observes in “Ameriican Requiem” over guitar strums and electric sitar, adding, “It’s a lot of chatter in here.”

From New York Times

“You don’t remember a few years ago when we went to the fairgrounds, where there was a music performance of tabla and sitar, and all those food stalls, and you got those tiny Pakistani flags?”

From Literature