The hammere dulcimer (also hammer dulcimer and four hammer dulcimer) is a stringed musical instrument with the strings stretched over a trapezoidal sounding board. Typically, the dulcimer is set on a stand, at an angle, before the musician, who holds small mallet hammers in each hand to strike the strings (cf. Appalachian dulcimer). The word dulcimer is Graeco-Roman, meaning "sweet song", it derives from the Latin dulcis (sweet) and the Greek melos (song). The dulcimer's origin is uncertain, but tradition holds it was invented in Iran some 2000 years ago, where it is called a Santur (cf. the folkloric Kashmiri Santoor).