Definition of "sitar" [sitar]

• A stringed instrument of India made of seasoned gourds and teak and having a track of 20 movable frets with 6 or 7 metal playing strings above and usually 13 sympathetic resonating strings below. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "In the face of numerous instruments, the sitar is the most popular in Chitral, northern Pakistan, the invention of which is attributed to Amir Khisro, a 14th century mystic poet, scholar and sage."
• "The sitar is a very intimidating instrument to learn, at any age."
• "That Paula Abdul, part-Syrian by descent, couldn't come up with the name of an Arab stringed instrument and instead said 'sitar' is a comment on Paula Abdul, not the arrangement."