LUTE is also a musical instrument with strings.—
The lute consists of four parts, viz. the table, the body
or belly, which has nine or ten sides: the neck, which
has nine or ten stops or divisions, marked with strings:
and the head or cross, where the screws for raising and
lowering the strings to a proper pitch of tone are fixed.
In the middle of the table there is a rose or passage
for the sound; there is also a bridge that the strings are
fastened to, and a piece of ivory between the head and
the neck to which the other extremities of the strings
are fitted. In playing, the strings are struck with the
right hand, and with the left the stops are pressed.
The lutes of Bologna are esteemed the best on account
of the wood, which is said to have an uncommon dispo-
sition for producing a sweet sound.