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dar·bu·ka

(där-bkə)

A goblet- or hourglass-shaped hand drum having a single drumhead, typically held in the lap or under the arm and widely used in Middle Eastern, Balkan, and North African music. Also called dumbek.

[Ultimately (partly via Turkish darbuka) from Arabic darabukka, dirbakka, perhaps from Syriac 'ardbakkā.]

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darbuka

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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