Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Cittern \Cit"tern\, n. [L. cithara, Gr. ?. Cf. {Cithara},
   {Gittern}.] (Mus.)
   An instrument shaped like a lute, but strung with wire and
   played with a quill or plectrum. [Written also {cithern}.]
   --Shak.

   Note: Not to be confounded with zither.

Source : WordNet®

cittern
     n : a 16th century musical instrument resembling a guitar with a
         pear-shaped soundbox and wire strings [syn: {cithern}, {cither},
          {citole}, {gittern}]