crwth

[prettygoodword]

crwth (KROOTH) or crowd (KROWD, KROOD) - n., an ancient Celtic stringed instrument, either plucked or bowed, with a rectangular vaulted frame and six strings stopped on a fingerboard.



Thanks, WikiMedia!

Particularly associated with Wales (though versions were played across Europe and ancient near east), and the name arrived in English via its Welsh form -- the Proto-Celtic root form *krutto- means round object. It's considered something of a transitional instrument between a cithera and violin, and in some dialects of English crowd is an alternate name for a fiddle.

---L.