Sitar
सितार
sih-TAR
Long-necked plucked string instrument, the iconic sound of Hindustani classical music.
Appears as an answer in MG Mini #661.
Meaning & usage
The sitar is a long-necked, gourd-bodied plucked lute with movable frets and a set of sympathetic strings under the playing strings that ring on their own. It is the signature melodic instrument of Hindustani classical music. Pandit Ravi Shankar took the instrument to a global audience in the 1960s and 70s; his pupils include George Harrison, who put the sitar on a string of Beatles records.
In a sentence
The opening bars of the sitar drone settled the audience instantly.
As seen in crosswords
Sitar is a 5-letter answer. A typical clue:
“Long-necked plucked string instrument, the iconic sound of Hindustani classical music” (5)
Know a word we’re missing? Submit a word.