A tailpiece is a piece of hardware mounted at the bottom/base of an instrument, and is used for attaching the strings. They are usually made out of metal, but can be made out of wood or other materials as well.
On store-bought guitars, the most common style seen is the “trapeze” tailpiece, which mounts with screws on the bottom edge of the guitar and then is bent over the body of the instrument. On cigar box guitars all sorts of hardware is used, with one of the more common items being hinges, as shown in the photo.
Synonyms:
tail piece