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Cittern vs Cistern - What's the difference?

cittern | cistern |

As nouns the difference between cittern and cistern

is that cittern is a stringed instrument similar to a mandolin which is an early form of guitar while cistern is a reservoir or tank for holding water, especially for catching and holding rainwater for later use.

cittern

English

(wikipedia cittern)

Alternative forms

* cither * zittern

Noun

(en noun)
  • (musical instrument) A stringed instrument similar to a mandolin which is an early form of guitar.
  • * 1661 January 17, ,
    • This discourse took us much time, till it was time to go to bed; but we being merry, we bade my Lady goodnight, and intended to have gone to the Post-house to drink, and hear a pretty girl play of the cittern (and indeed we should have lain there, but by a mistake we did not), but it was late, and we could not hear her, and the guard came to examine what we were; so we returned to our Inn and to bed, the page and I in one bed, and the two captains in another, all in one chamber, where we had very good mirth with our most abominable lodging.
  • * 1911', '' ,
    • The cittern consisted of a pear-shaped body similar to that of the lute but with a flat back and sound-board joined by ribs. The neck was provided with a fretted fingerboard; the head was curved and surmounted by a grotesque head of a woman or of an animal.
  • * 1911 , ,
    • The advent of the Spanish guitar in England led to the wane in the popularity of the cittern , also known at that time in contradistinction as the English or wire-strung guitar, although the two instruments differed in many particulars.
  • * 2000 , Musical Instruments Museum, Visitor's Guide , page 93,
    • Antwerp was world-famous for its harpsichords, but it was also a centre, in the 16th century, where citterns , lutes, viols and later violins were constructed with skill.

    cistern

    English

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A reservoir or tank for holding water, especially for catching and holding rainwater for later use.
  • * 1913 , A.C. Cotter, ",
    • Their extreme necessity is attested by the countless number of old, unused cisterns with which the Holy Land is literally honeycombed.
  • * {{quote-book
    • , year=2001 , author=Philip J. King and Lawrence E. Stager , title=Life in Biblical Israel , chapter=3 , isbn=0664221483 , page=126 , passage=Cisterns (bôr'', ''b?'r ), mentioned frequently in the Bible, are artificial reservoirs, usually cut into bedrock, for collecting and conserving rain runoff from roofs and courtyards.}}
  • (technical) In a flush toilet, the container in which the water used for flushing is held; a toilet tank.
  • * {{quote-book
    • , year=2003 , author=Allan Windust , title=Waterwise House & Garden: a Guide for Sustainable Living , chapter=9 , isbn=0643068007 , page=36 , passage=It is possible to connect your tank to your toilet cistern and/or garden, so that even if the water is not drinkable it still can be used productively to make major water savings.}}
  • (anatomy) A cisterna.

    • Anagrams

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