'chitarrone' originates from Italian, specifically the noun 'chitarrone', where 'chitarra' meant 'guitar' and the augmentative suffix '-one' meant 'large'.

'chitarrone' developed as an augmentative form of Italian 'chitarra' (from Medieval Latin 'cithara' and Greek 'kithara'), evolving into the specialized term for the large lute-like instrument used in the 17th century.

Initially it literally meant 'large guitar', and over time it came to denote the specific large, long-necked lute (used for basso continuo) now called the 'chitarrone'.