clavicytherium

1. (music) A harpsichord in which the soundboard and strings are mounted vertically facing the player.Examples: "[T]he harpſichord is an improvement of the Clavicitherium, an inſtrument known in England in Gower's time by the name of the Citole, from Cistella, a little cheſt."; "When we consider the state of imperfection in which all keyed instruments, the organ excepted, remained till within these few years past, we can scarcely bring ourselves to believe tha instruments analogous to them were in use as far back as 1530. Yet such was the case: four instruments of this kind were then employed, the compass of which was three octaves and a half. They were—1st, the Clavicitherium, which was mounted with catgut-strings, and sounded by means of a jack put in motion by the touch: […]"; "The first stringed instrument to which the key-board was applied, was probably the clavicytherium, or keyed-cithara. In its early stage, it was a small oblong box, with the strings arranged in the form of a half-triangle. The strings, which were of catgut, were sounded by means of quill-plectra, attached in a rude way to the ends of the keys."