spike lute

noun

Any of various musical instruments comprising a resonator and string bearer that are physically united, with strings parallel to the sound table and a handle which is also the string bearer and which passes diametrically through the resonator.

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Meanings

nounspike lute (plural spike lutes)

plural spike lutes

  1. Any of various musical instruments comprising a resonator and string bearer that are physically united, with strings parallel to the sound table and a handle which is also the string bearer and which passes diametrically through the resonator.

Origin

So called because the handle often forms a spike where it emerges from the resonator.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

spike lute. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/spike%20lute

MLA

“spike lute.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/spike%20lute. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “spike lute,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/spike%20lute.

Source: spike lute on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.