crwth

noun

Etymology: From earlier crowd, from Middle English crowde, reinforced by and cognate to Welsh crwth; ultimately from Proto-Celtic *kruttos (“round thing”).

1. An archaic stringed instrument associated particularly with Wales, though once played widely in Europe, and characterized by a vaulted back and enough space for the player to stop each of the six strings on the fingerboard. Played variously by plucking or bowing.

   “We find in one period crwths, with the strings twanged with the right hand, and stopped above with the left, being held as we hold a violoncello to-day, but being small, on the lap.”