rebec

or re·beck

[ ree-bek ]

/ ˈri bɛk /

noun

a Renaissance fiddle with a pear-shaped body tapering into a neck that ends in a sickle-shaped or scroll-shaped pegbox.

Nearby words

Origin of rebec

1745–55; < Middle French; replacing Middle English ribibe < Old French rebebe ≪ Arabic rabāb rebab

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for rebec

This rebab is an exact counterpart of the rebec formerly popular in Western Europe.
Musical Myths and Facts, Volume I (of 2)|Carl Engel
And it was so ready with refrains and lays and songs and new tunes, that harp, or viol, or rebec were as nought beside it.
Tales from the Old French|Various
Bonnivet, during his investment of Milan, had posted Bayard with a small corps in the village of Rebec.
A Popular History of France From The Earliest Times|Francois Pierre Guillaume Guizot
Mention is made of a Rebec, attributed to Andrea Amati, dated 1546.
The Violin|George Hart

It was Rizzio's skill upon the rebec that had first attracted Mary's attention.
The Historical Nights' Entertainment|Rafael Sabatini

British Dictionary definitions for rebec

rebec

rebeck

/ (ˈriːbɛk) /

noun

a medieval stringed instrument resembling the violin but having a lute-shaped body

Word Origin for rebec

C16: from Old French rebebe, from Arabic rebāb; perhaps also influenced by Old French bec beak

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for rebec

rebec

medieval stringed musical instrument, early 15c., from Middle French rebec (15c.), an unexplained alteration (perhaps somehow influenced by bec "beak") of Old French ribabe (13c.), ultimately from Arabic rebab. Cf. Old Provençal rebec, Italian ribeca. It has three strings and is played with a bow.