lute, in music, any plucked or bowed chordophone whose strings are parallel to its belly, or soundboard, and run along a distinct neck or pole. In this sense, instruments such as the Indian sitar are classified as lutes. The violin and the Indonesian rebab are bowed lutes, and the Japanese samisen and the Western guitar are plucked lutes.

The biggest difference between a modern guitar and a lute is the shape: the lute has a pear-shaped body with a round back while the guitar has a flat back. A lute may be fretless or have animal gut frets that are movable, unlike a guitar which has fixed, usually metal, frets.

Would it surprise you to know that the modern guitar is the current evolutionary form of the lute? Well, it is! Despite that, there are a few notable differences between the two. First is size: Most lutes are smaller than guitars, due to their shorter necks and stouter bodies.

Lute and guitar are stringed musical instruments; lute, with rounded body and varying number of strings, was prominent in medieval and Renaissance music, while guitar, typically with flat-backed body and six strings, is central to many modern genres.