Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary - dulcimer

 noun  Etymology: Middle English dowcemere, from Middle French doulcemer, from Old Italian dolcimelo, from dolce sweet, from Latin dulcis  Date: 15th century  1. a stringed instrument of trapezoidal shape played with light hammers held in the hands  2. (or dulcimore) an American folk instrument with three or four strings stretched over an elongate fretted sound box that is held on the lap and played by plucking or strumming