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plectrum

Pronunciation: /ˈplɛk.tɹəm/

The English word “plectrum” has 2 meanings listed here.

noun

  1. A small piece of plastic, metal, ivory, etc., for plucking the strings of a guitar, lyre, mandolin, etc.
  2. A projection of bone or other stiff tissue, such as the ridges in some insects' stridulatory organs.

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.

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