A lute-like medieval stringed instrument, forerunner of the cittern.
齐特尔琴（中世纪弦乐器，似半梨形的琉特琴，西特琴的前身）
Example sentencesExamples
The Cittern, a Renaissance instrument that may be a descendent of the citole, is equipped with metal strings.
The proliferation of bagpipes suggests that drone accompaniment was popular, as does the depiction of fiddle and citole players plucking their lowest string with the left thumb while using a bow or plectrum in the other hand.
There is definite documentary evidence that both the citole and the gittern were normally strung in gut.
Some iconographic citoles have tailpieces, while on others the strings attach directly in the trefoil area.
The citole is the medieval guitar, known only from pictures in manuscripts and statues on churches.
Origin
Late Middle English: from Old French, based on Latin cithara(see cittern).