rabab

R1A1B3A1B3
/ɹɪˈbæb/

noun

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

OriginArabic رَبَاب →
Scrabble 9
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Meanings

nounrabab (plural rababs)

plural rababs · alternative rebab

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

    The hired musicians—rabab, hand drums, and ghärawnay, or Chinese flute—had learned “Kalinka” and “Ochi Chorniya”

    2006, Thomas Pynchon, Against the Day, Vintage, published 2007, page 846

Origin

  1. Arabicرَبَاب
  2. Englishrabab

Borrowed from Arabic رَبَاب (rabāb), plural of رَبَابَة (rabāba).

More words from Arabic

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with rabab

lababtabcabgrabfabslabdabstababbnabgabjabbabdrabcollabBabbblabvabflabshabknabniqabpoor dab
All rhymes →

Anagrams

Babar
Cite this entry
APA

rabab. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rabab

MLA

“rabab.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rabab. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “rabab,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rabab.

Source: rabab on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.