Refers both to a specific instrument and the name of a family of chordophones. The characteristic feature of this family is the zither's structure - essentially, it is a wooden sound box; unlike the guitar or violin, it has no 'neck' and wire (or sometimes gut) strings run the length of - but no longer than - the sound box. Portable, accessible, easily constructed and easily played, these instruments may be plucked (using a 'pick' to strum the strings), struck with wooden mallets or even bowed.

Zithers date back at least to 2000 BC, when variants such as the psaltery were used by ancient Greek and Egyptian cultures. There are Asian bowed zithers and long (plucked) zithers (such as the koto). The tube zithers of Madagascar are related to those in Borneo. The African mat and trough zithers may have developed to become the Persian zithers.

The northern European fretted zither family, from which the Appalachian mountain dulcimer derives, may have come from the psaltery family (plucked) which finds its roots in Persia, or from the Asian zither family via Siberia.

The hammered dulcimer family from which the piano developed, comes from the Persian santur.