Tanbour with the ancient name tambour is the very ancient long necked lute of Persia that even today it is played in Persia (Iran), particularly in Kermanshah city that is the center of Kermanshahan province of Iran.

This ancient instrument had two strings, but today three-stringed ones are more popular. It is obvious that it is related to tanbura and tampura of India that are respectively played in North Indian and South Indian classical music.

Anyway, here not the instrument itself, but the etymological discussion of the word tanbour is what we like to discuss about that. Tanb in ancient Persian language means belly and since the sound-box of this instrument has a belly form, it has been called tanb-var and var here is the suffix for possession like honar-var that means a person who has artist and means artist (Honar means art). Also var has the same meaning as er in English language.

Some believe that since the body of the tonbak (Persian goblet shaped drum) is belly-form, it is called tonb-ak and k here is diminutive suffix. Anyway, some believe that the word tonbak comes from the combination of the two terms ton and bak that are the sounds produced on the tonbak.

The existence of the word tonb in the names of the two Iranian Islands, tonb-e-bozorg (Greater tonb) and tonb-e-kuckak (Lesser tonb) is not accidental, since Island is like a belly in sea, gulf or ocean.