plectrum en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- /ˈplɛk.tɹəm/
- (US) audio
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin plēctrum, from Ancient Greek πλῆκτρον (plêktron, “anything to strike with, an instrument for striking the lyre, a spear point”), from πλήσσειν (plḗssein, “to strike, to smite, to sting”). Displaced native Old English sleġel.
Meanings
-
A small piece of plastic, metal, ivory, etc., for plucking the strings of a guitar, lyre, mandolin, etc.
For sounds in winter nights, and often in winter days, I heard the forlorn but melodious note of a hooting owl indefinitely far; such a sound as the frozen earth would yield if struck with a suitable plectrum, the very lingua vernacula of Walden Wood, and quite familiar to me at last, though I never saw the bird while it was making it.
1854 August 9, Henry D[avid] Thoreau, “Winter Animals”, in Walden; or, Life in the Woods, Boston, Mass.: Ticknor and Fields, →OCLC, page 292:
- A projection of bone or other stiff tissue, such as the ridges in some insects' stridulatory organs.
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| plectrums | Number=Plur | lexicographic | |
| plectra | Number=Plur | lexicographic | |
| plectron | alternative | lexicographic |
Deriveds
Synonyms
guitar pick · plectre · pick
Translations (79)
el πλήκτρο (music: small piece for plucking strings) · tr çalgıç (music: small piece for plucking strings) · sh трзалица (music: small piece for plucking strings) · tl puwa (music: small piece for plucking strings) · ota تازیانه (music: small piece for plucking strings) · fr onglet (music: small piece for plucking strings) · nn plekter (music: small piece for plucking strings) · eo plektro (music: small piece for plucking strings) · es plectro (music: small piece for plucking strings) · ms plektrum (music: small piece for plucking strings) · sh плектрум (music: small piece for plucking strings) · az mizrab (music: small piece for plucking strings) · be медыя́тар (music: small piece for plucking strings) · sh trzalica (music: small piece for plucking strings) · uk плектр (music: small piece for plucking strings) · ru плектр (music: small piece for plucking strings) · tr plektrum (anatomical part) · is nögl (music: small piece for plucking strings) · sh trzaljka (music: small piece for plucking strings) · lv braucis (music: small piece for plucking strings) · nl plectrum (music: small piece for plucking strings) · es púa (music: small piece for plucking strings) · sh трзаљка (music: small piece for plucking strings) · el πέννα (music: small piece for plucking strings) · fi pleku (music: small piece for plucking strings) · de Plektrum (music: small piece for plucking strings) · lt brauktukas (music: small piece for plucking strings) · pl plektron (music: small piece for plucking strings) · pt plectro (music: small piece for plucking strings) · cmn 撥子 /拨子 (music: small piece for plucking strings) · ms pemanting (music: small piece for plucking strings) · hu pengető (music: small piece for plucking strings) · fi plektra (music: small piece for plucking strings) · sv plektrum (music: small piece for plucking strings) · et plektron (music: small piece for plucking strings) · da plekter (music: small piece for plucking strings) · fr plectre (music: small piece for plucking strings) · tl plektro (music: small piece for plucking strings) · sh plektrum (music: small piece for plucking strings) · fo plektari (music: small piece for plucking strings) · pl kostka (music: small piece for plucking strings) · fa زخمه (music: small piece for plucking strings) · de Plektron (music: small piece for plucking strings) · ca plectre (music: small piece for plucking strings) · nb plekter (music: small piece for plucking strings) · ca pua (music: small piece for plucking strings) · ru медиа́тор (music: small piece for plucking strings) · fi kynsi (music: small piece for plucking strings) · cs trsátko (music: small piece for plucking strings) · fa مضراب (music: small piece for plucking strings) · ota زخمه (music: small piece for plucking strings) · ota مضراب (music: small piece for plucking strings) · nv beeʼałtązhí (music: small piece for plucking strings) · fa سکافه (music: small piece for plucking strings) · es vitela (music: small piece for plucking strings) · fr pick (music: small piece for plucking strings) · bg перце (music: small piece for plucking strings) · fr médiator (music: small piece for plucking strings) · yi ביינדל (music: small piece for plucking strings) · uk медіа́тор (music: small piece for plucking strings) · oc plèctre (music: small piece for plucking strings) · ja ピック (music: small piece for plucking strings) · grc πλῆκτρον (music: small piece for plucking strings) · la plectrum (music: small piece for plucking strings) · br skraberig (music: small piece for plucking strings) · tr tezene (music: small piece for plucking strings) · be пле́ктар (music: small piece for plucking strings) · ms pik (music: small piece for plucking strings) · el πλήκτρο (anatomical part) · mk перце (music: small piece for plucking strings) · tr mızrap (music: small piece for plucking strings) · ang næġl (music: small piece for plucking strings) · ar ريشة (music: small piece for plucking strings) · th ปิ๊ก (music: small piece for plucking strings) · it plettro (music: small piece for plucking strings) · ko 피크 (music: small piece for plucking strings) · pt palheta (music: small piece for plucking strings) · tr pena (music: small piece for plucking strings) · he מפרט (music: small piece for plucking strings)