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(music) A plucked string instrument (a zither) of the Baltic psaltery family, traditionally with five strings but now more widely varying, originating in the folk music of Finland, where it is seen as a national symbol.[1]
1989, Elias Lönnrot, translated by Keith Bosley, The Kalevala, section XLIV:
With his fingers Väinämöinen played / with its strings the kantele rang out […].
“kantele”, in Kielitoimiston sanakirja [Dictionary of Contemporary Finnish] (in Finnish) (online dictionary, continuously updated), Kotimaisten kielten keskuksen verkkojulkaisuja 35, Helsinki: Kotimaisten kielten tutkimuskeskus (Institute for the Languages of Finland), 2004–, retrieved 2023-07-01