in Antiquity, a musical instrument, the precise figure of which is not known. Some think it resembled the Greek delta Δ; and others that it had the form of a half-moon. At first it had only three strings, but the number was at different times increased to eight, nine, and lastly to twenty-four. It was used in entertainments and private houses, and played upon with a plectrum or quill, like the lyre.