a stringed instrument related to the lute, usually played with a plectrum
"She strummed her mandolin with a bright plectrum as the evening guests gathered around the fireplace."
a stringed instrument and a member of the lute family, having eight strings in four courses, frequently tuned as a violin, and with either a bowl-shaped back or a flat back
"During the folk festival, she strummed her mandolin, its high-pitched melody cutting through the evening air just like a traditional lute."