Rebecs

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A type of stringed instrument resembling a violin, typically played with a bow and associated with medieval music
2. An early bowed instrument similar to a fiddle, notable for its distinct sound and used in folk traditions
3. A historical string instrument, characterized by its body shape and often used in traditional performances across cultures

Etymology: "Rebecs" is the plural of "rebec", a medieval bowed instrument. The singular traces back through Middle French "rebec", an altered form of "rubebe", to Arabic "rabāb", the name of a stringed instrument. The Middle French form was reshaped, so the modern word looks less like its Arabic source than it once did. The "rubebe" form, which entered Middle French, was the immediate step between the Arabic name and the English instrument word. English later also knew the same instrument under the variant "ribibe", a form that shows how loosely the name was spelled as it passed between languages.

Synonyms: fiddles, stringed instruments, viols, lutes, musical instruments