gusla

noun

gus·​la

variants or gusle or gousle or less commonly guzla

ˈgü|slə,

ˈgu̇|,

|zlə

plural -s

: a rudimentary musical instrument of the Balkans made with a round concave body, parchment sounding board, and one horsehair string and held between the knees and played with a curved bow

Word History

Etymology

Serbo-Croatian gusle; akin to Bulgarian gŭsla gusla, Russian gusli gusli, Old Slavic gǫsli psaltery, Russian gudet' to sound, drone, Lithuanian gausti

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