plectrum
/ˈplɛk.tɹəm/
plectrum noun: a small piece of plastic, metal, ivory, etc., for plucking the strings of a guitar, lyre, mandolin, etc.
Noun
plectrum (plural plectrums or plectra)
- 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...1854 August 9, Henry D[avid] Thoreau, “Winter Animals”, in Walden; or, Life in the Woods, Boston, Mass.: Ticknor and Fields, →OCLC, page 292
- Synonyms:
- guitar pick, pick, plectre
- A projection of bone or other stiff tissue, such as the ridges in some insects' stridulatory organs.
plectrum meaning in Tamil, Tagalog, Arabic and Malay
plectrum in Tamil
- முக்கோண வடிவம் கொண்ட பொருள், இசை
plectrum in Tagalog
- music: small piece for plucking strings
- puwa, plektro
plectrum in Arabic
- music: small piece for plucking strings
- ريشة
plectrum in Malay
- music: small piece for plucking strings
- plektrum, pemanting, pik
More languagesFewer languages
- plectrum in Persian
- زخمه zaxme, مضراب mezrâb, سکافه sokâfe
- plectrum in Thai
- ปิ๊ก bpík
Synonyms of plectrum
Forms of plectrum
| plural | plectrums |
|---|---|
| plural | plectra |
| alternative form | plectron |
Origin of plectrum
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.
Words formed from plectrum
- plectral
- plectric
Questions about plectrum
- What does plectrum mean?
- Plectrum means a small piece of plastic, metal, ivory, etc., for plucking the strings of a guitar, lyre, mandolin, etc.
- What is plectrum in Tamil?
- Plectrum in Tamil is முக்கோண வடிவம் கொண்ட பொருள், இசை. See Plectrum meaning in Tamil.
- What part of speech is plectrum?
- Plectrum is a noun.
- How do you pronounce plectrum?
- Plectrum is pronounced /ˈplɛk.tɹəm/.
- What is the plural of plectrum?
- The plural of plectrum is plectrums.
Words near plectrum in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: plectrum (page history and authors); plectrum (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-plectrum.ogg.
Cite this entry: “plectrum.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/plectrum. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.