What is "tanbur"

n. (context music English) In Classical Turkish music, a long-necked, fretted, plucked lute. Also, various lutes of West and Central Asia.

The terms Tanbur, Tanbūr, Tanbura, Tambur, Tambura or Tanboor can refer to various long-necked, string instrument originating in Mesopotamia, Southern or Central Asia. According to the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, "terminology presents a complicated situation. Nowadays the term tanbur (or tambur) is applied to a variety of distinct and related long-necked string instruments used in art and folk traditions in India, Iraqi Kurdistan, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Turkey, Tajikestan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan. Similar or identical instruments are also known by other terms."