guitar (Fr.: guitare; Ger.: Gitarre; It.: chitarra; Port.: viola, violão; Sp.: guitarra).
A fretted plucked string instrument, related to the lute, but with a waisted body and often a flat or gently curved back. Instruments with some of these characteristics, usually with a small body and a long pole-neck, are of great antiquity, appearing in ancient Central Asian, Mesopotamian, and Egyptian carvings and wall-paintings. Such instruments are still found in many parts of the world. Variants with an oval or waisted body were depicted in early medieval iconography, but it was not until the end of the 15th century that an instrument recognizable as an early version of the modern guitar first appeared.... ...
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