In its wider sense the word lute
designates any chordophone having a neck that serves as string bearer and handle, with the plane of the strings running parallel to that of the belly. Such instruments can be plucked, struck, rubbed with a friction stick, or bowed (in this sense, a violin is a member of the lute family). In the more restricted sense, lutes are plucked chordophones having a neck and bulging body, represented in the West first and foremost by...
