Etymograph

English

rabab

Rabab comes from Arabic رَبَاب.

  1. Arabicc. 500–presentرَبَاب1rabāb
  2. Englishearliest quotation 2006rabab1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English rabab
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2006, Thomas Pynchon, Against the Day: “The hired musicians—rabab, hand drums, and ghärawnay, or Chinese…”.

Lineage

  1. Arabicc. 500–presentرَبَابWiktionary, English rababrabāb
  2. Englishearliest quotation 2006rababWiktionary, English rabab. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2006, Thomas Pynchon, Against the Day: “The hired musicians—rabab, hand drums, and ghärawnay, or Chinese…”

Every English word from Arabic رَبَاب

Today it means

noun An Arabian stringed instrument, played by plucking or with a bow.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “rabab”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Arabic رَبَاب / rabab

Shirt and support for this word