A Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue (up to 1700)
Hide Quotations Hide Etymology
About this entry:
First published 1951 (DOST Vol. II).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1448-1599
[0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0]
Gittern, Githorn, n. Also: gittyrn, gyth-, guthorne, guthrone, guthtrone, gutterne. [e.m.E. gittern(e, githorn, ME. git-, gyterne (c 1377), OF. guiterne. See also Gethorn.] A cithern. 1448 Exchequer Rolls V. 311.
Pro ... factura unius gythorn de mandato regis c1450-2 Howlat 758.
The crovde, the monycordis, the gittyrnis gay a1500 Buke of the Sevyne Sagis 2522.
Harpe, lute, gittern, clarschaw & croude 1513 Doug. xii. ix. 105.
The harpys and the githornys [R. gythornis] plays attanys 15.. Clariodus ii. 1649.
The guthtrone with triumph did record 15.. Ib. v. 990.
Lute, … viole, clarcheo, and guthrone 1571 Satirical Poems xxviii. 67.
Quhair I begouth with guthorne for to dance 1587 Edinburgh Testaments XVII. 162.
Gutterne, lut, and siterin 1597 Bk. Rates MS. 10 b.
Stringis for luittis, gitternis, harpis
You may wish to vary the format shown below depending on the citation style used.
"Gittern n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 13 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/dost/gittern>
