Meanings
plural sistrums · plural sistra · alternative obsolete systrum
- An ancient Egyptian musical instrument, to be shaken, consisting of a metal frame holding percussive metal beads.
She moved with slow undulations of her body as lascivious as the curve of Hathfertiti’s hair, and the sistrum with its singing wires was played by a dwarf wearing nothing but a gold purse and a few bracelets on his stunted biceps.
1983, Norman Mailer, Ancient Evenings
Origin
- Ancient Greekσεῖστρον
- Latinsīstrum
- Englishsistrum
Borrowed from Latin sīstrum, itself a borrowing from Ancient Greek σεῖστρον (seîstron), from σείω (seíō, “shake”).
More words from Latin, Ancient Greek
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Ancient Greek σεῖστρον
- σεῖστρον (seîstron)instrument
Arabic سيستروم
- سيسترومinstrument
Catalan sistre
- sistreinstrument
Chinese Mandarin 叉鈴 /叉铃, 西斯鈴 /西斯铃
- 叉鈴 /叉铃 (chālíng)instrument
- 西斯鈴 /西斯铃 (xīsīlíng)instrument
Czech sistrum
- sistruminstrument
Dutch sistrum
- sistruminstrument
French sistre
- sistreinstrument
German Sistrum
- Sistruminstrument
Italian sistro
- sistroinstrument
Latin sistrum
- sistruminstrument
Polish sistrum
- sistruminstrument
Russian систр
- систр (sistr)instrument
Spanish sistro
- sistroinstrument
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with sistrum
All rhymes →Anagrams
Cite this entry
sistrum. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sistrum
“sistrum.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sistrum. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “sistrum,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sistrum.
Source: sistrum on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.