A luthier ( ) is someone who makes or repairs string instruments generally consisting of a neck and a sound box. The word luthier comes from the French word , which means lute. The term originally referred to makers of lutes and is now used interchangeably with any term that refers to makers of a specific, or specialty, type of stringed instrument, such as violin maker, guitar maker, lute maker, but excluding makers of instruments such as harps and pianos, where strings are secured to a frame, and which require different skills and methods of construction. The craft of making string instruments, or lutherie (sometimes spelled luthiery), is commonly divided into two main categories: makers of stringed instruments that are plucked or strummed and makers of stringed instruments that are bowed. Since bowed instruments require a bow, the second category includes a subtype known as a bow maker or archetier. Luthiers may also teach string instrument making, either through apprenticeship or formal classroom instruction.