oud | en

The oud
(Arabic: عود‎ ʿūd, plural: أعواد, a‘wād; Somali: kaban; Persian: بربط barbat; Turkish: ud or ut; Greek: ούτι; Armenian: ուդ, Azeri: ud; Hebrew: עוד ud)
is a pear-shaped, stringed instrument, which is often seen as the predecessor of the western lute, distinguished primarily by being without frets, commonly used in Middle Eastern music. .