Qanun

noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A Near Eastern and Caucasian musical instrument related to the zither, dulcimer, or harp having either 26 strings and a single bridge, or 42 strings and two bridges.

    "WISPS of mournful tunes from a cane flute mingled with the plucking, jangling arabesques of the zitherlike qanun, the oud and gentle drums."

Synonyms

All synonyms
kanon

Example

More examples

"He plays the qanun exceptionally well."

Etymology

From Turkish kanun, from Ottoman Turkish قانون (kanun), from Arabic قَانُون (qānūn), from Ancient Greek κανών (kanṓn). Doublet of canon.

Related phrases

musical instrument

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.