Oud

The oud (/uːd/; Arabic: عود‎ ʿūd  Arabic pronunciation: [ʕu(ː)d, ʢuːd], plural: أعواد aʿwād; Armenian: ուդ, Syriac: ܥܘܕ ūd, Greek: ούτι oúti; Hebrew: עוּד‎ ud; Persian: بربط‎‎ barbat; Kurdish: ûd‎; Turkish: ud or ut;Azeri: ud; Somali: cuud or kaban) is a pear-shaped stringed instrument commonly used in Persian, Arabic, Greek, Turkish, Jewish, Byzantine, Azerbaijani, Armenian, North African (Chaabi, Classical, and Spanish Andalusian), Somali and Middle Eastern music. Construction of the oud is similar to that of the lute. The modern oud and the European lute both descend from a common ancestor via diverging paths. One instrument that has been suggested as ancestral is the Barbat. The oud is readily distinguished from the lute by its lack of frets and smaller neck. Alongside the lute, it is considered an ancestor of the guitar.

Etymology

The origin of the name oud (and its etymological cousin, lute) for the musical instrument is uncertain. The Arabic: العود‎ (al-ʿūd) literally denotes a thin piece of wood similar to the shape of a straw. It may refer to the wooden plectrum traditionally used for playing the oud, to the thin strips of wood used for the back, or to the wooden soundboard that distinguished it from similar instruments with skin-faced bodies.

Oud (disambiguation)

The oud is a musical instrument.

Oud or OUD may also refer to:

See also

Barbat (lute)

The barbat (Persian: بربط‎‎) or barbud was a lute of possibly Central Asian origin. Many instruments such as the Arabic oud are derived from the barbat. The modern Persian Barbat is almost the same thing as the oud; although differences include a smaller body, longer neck and a slightly raised fingerboard.

History

The barbat is one of the oldest instruments in the world, and probably originated in Central Asia. The earliest image of the barbat dates back to the 1st century BC from ancient northern Bactria, while a more "clear cut" depiction of the barbat from Gandhara sculpture dates to the 2nd-4th centuries AD. According to Encyclopedia Iranica, this type of instrument could have been introduced by the Kushans and was later adopted by the Persians. By the 7th century, the barbat was developed by the Arabs into its current form, called the oud. After the tanbur, it is the oldest string instrument in Iran.

The instrument was abolished in Safavid period for an unknown reason (perhaps due to religious fanaticism), even until recent decades.