The Spanish word 'bandola', which refers to a mandolin-like musical instrument, traces its origins back to ancient Greek through Latin. It comes from the Latin word 'pandura', meaning 'three-stringed lute', which itself was borrowed from the Greek 'pandoura' (πανδοῦρα), meaning 'three-stringed guitar'. The evolution from 'pandura' to 'bandola' shows typical sound changes from Latin to Spanish, where the initial 'p' became 'b' and the ending was modified to fit Spanish word patterns.

Some related Spanish musical instrument terms include 'bandurria' (a type of plucked string instrument) and 'bandolín' (a mandolin). These words share the same Greek-Latin ancestry and reflect the Spanish language's rich vocabulary for stringed instruments.

While English doesn't have many direct cognates from this root, the word 'pandora' or 'bandora' (an old English musical instrument) comes from the same Greek source. The modern word 'banjo' may also be distantly related, though its immediate origin is from African-American creole.