cittern-head

noun

A blockhead; a dunce.

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Meanings

nouncittern-head (plural cittern-heads)

plural cittern-heads · alternative citternhead

  1. obsoleteA blockhead; a dunce.

    Shall brainless cittern-heads, each jobbernoul, / Pocket the very genius of thy soul?

    1599, W. Kinsayder or Theriomastix [pseudonyms; John Marston], The Scourge of Villanie. […], London: […] I[ames] R[oberts], →OCLC; republished as G[eorge] B[agshawe] Harrison, editor, The Scourge of Villanie (The Bodley Head Quartos; 13), London: John Lane, The Bodley Head […]; New York, N.Y.: E[dward] P[ayson] Dutton & Company, 1925, →OCLC

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
idiot

Origin

So called because the handle of a cittern usually ended with a carved head.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

cittern-head. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cittern-head

MLA

“cittern-head.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cittern-head. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “cittern-head,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cittern-head.

Source: cittern-head on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.