Psaltery is a stringed musical instrument, typically with a flat soundboard and numerous strings plucked to produce tones, often trapezoidal in shape. The term also refers to a keyboard-like medieval instrument used for liturgical singing. In modern usage, it denotes classical or antique string instruments, though the word is occasionally encountered in historical or literary contexts.
"The village concert featured an elegant psaltery, its melody shimmering across the hall."
"Scholars discussed the psaltery in religious manuscripts dating from the 12th century."
"She collected antique psalteries, hoping to restore one to playable condition."
"The ensemble included a psaltery alongside a lute and vielle for a historical performance."
The word psaltery comes from the Middle English psalterie, from Old French psalterie, from Latin psalterium, and ultimately from Greek psalterion meaning a stringed instrument used to accompany psalms. The Greek term derives from psallein “to twang, to play a stringed instrument,” and the suffix -terion indicating an instrument. In Latin, psalterium referred specifically to a stringed instrument played as an accompaniment, especially for liturgical texts. The medieval Latin psalterium became psalterium in Old French and English, with the spelling Psaltarie or Psaltery in Middle English. By the late medieval to early Renaissance periods, psaltery referred to plucked, flat-board instruments with sympathetic or individually stringed courses, sometimes with a trapezoidal body. Over time, “psaltery” shifted in general usage to denote antique or historical stringed instruments and is now often used in historical or musical literature. In scholarly and musical contexts, the term evokes medieval and early modern performance practice, including how the instrument accompanied psalms and songs in liturgy. First known English usages appear in 13th–14th centuries manuscripts, indicating the instrument’s long-standing presence in European musical culture.
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Words that rhyme with "Psaltery"
-ery sounds
-ter sounds
Practice with these rhyming pairs to improve your pronunciation consistency:
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US/UK/AU pronunciation is PSAL-ter-ee or SAWL-ter-ee, with the initial cluster /s/ + /ɔː/ (as in 'saw') followed by /l/; the second syllable is a light /tə/ or /tər/ depending on locale, and the final /i/ is often a short 'ee' sound. IPA: US: /ˈsɔːl.tə.ɹi/; UK: /ˈsɔːl.tə.ri/; AU: /ˈsɔːl.tə.ɹi/. Emphasize the first syllable. You’ll often hear it pronounced as “SAWL-ter-ee” in careful speech, or “SAWL-ter-ree” in some British varieties.
Two main errors: 1) Pronouncing the initial cluster as PSAL (ps- sound avoided) instead of starting with SAWL-; 2) Ending with a ‘-er-ee’ instead of the unstressed '-tery' as /tə-ɹi/ or /təri/. Correction: start with /ˈsɔːl/ (SAWL) then add /tə/ or /tɹi/ depending on dialect, keeping final /i/ as a short vowel rather than a full syllabic. Try [ˈsɔːl.tə.ɹi] in US/UK.
In US English, the word is often pronounced /ˈsɔːl.tə.ɹi/ with rhoticity: the final /ɹ/ is pronounced and the vowels are lax. UK English tends to /ˈsɔːl.tə.ri/ with a lighter /ɹ/ or non-rhotic in some dialects, and the final vowel is less r-colored. Australian English typically /ˈsɔːl.tə.ɹi/ with a clear /ɹ/ and similar vowel quality to US but with a more centralized vowel in some regions. Stress remains on the first syllable.
The difficulty comes from the initial ps- cluster in English borrowings, which can trip speakers into dropping the /s/ or misplacing stress. The second syllable reduces to a schwa-like /ə/; the final -ery often has a reduced vowel. Focus on maintaining the /ˈsɔːl/ onset, then a crisp /tə/ and a short /ɹi/ or /ri/ ending. IPA cues: /ˈsɔːl.tə.ɹi/ (US).
Pluralization does not typically change the pronunciation of the root; you add -ies as a plural in written form (psalteries), pronounced the same on the root: /ˈsɔːl.tə.ɹi.z/ or /ˈsɔːl.tə.ɹiz/ depending on phonological linking and dialect. In most contexts, speakers maintain /ˈsɔːl.tə.ɹi/ for singular and /ˈsɔːl.tə.ɹiz/ for plural in speech. Detailed note: plural s often voices as /z/.
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