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DictionaryluteStringed instrument
noun

lute

LOOT/luːt/

A plucked stringed instrument with a rounded body.

The lute has a rounded back, a pear-shaped front, and a short neck.

An isolated European lute shown in three-quarter view, making its rounded, ribbed bowl, pear-shaped soundboard, strings, short neck and sharply backward-bent pegbox immediately recognizable.
Etymology
lArabicthe
+uteArabicwood; lute

The Arabic pieces mean “the wood,” used as the name of the Arabian lute. The material’s name thus became the name of the stringed instrument.

In context

Storytime Haven146:33
Sir Jasper’s betrothed sang first, and accompanied herself upon a lute.
The lavender dragon by Eden Phillpotts | Fantasy Full Audiobook

More examples

  • A rounded wooden back gave the lute its distinctive shape.
  • She tuned the lute before accompanying the singer.
  • The painting showed a court musician holding a lute.

Forms

lute · lutes

Similar words

guitar
A guitar typically has a flatter body; a lute has a distinctive rounded back and short neck.
mandolin
A mandolin is another plucked instrument; its smaller body and paired string courses distinguish it from a lute.