Rabāb

(Arab.). Middle Eastern bowed FIDDLE, first recorded in the 10th century and based on a Persian plucked LUTE. It is held upright between the legs and rests on the ground on a short, metal spike. The rabāb has a pear-shaped body, sickle-shaped pegbox, and between three and five strings.

Related forms of it are played in southern Asia and Indonesia, the latter as a GAMELAN instrument called rebab; it was introduced there in the 16th century as a result of the Arab invasions. By the 11th century, the rabāb had reached Europe; it evolved into the REBEC.