tambourine
pronunciation
How to pronounce tambourine in British English:
UK [ˌtæmbəˈri:n]
How to pronounce tambourine in American English:
US [ˌtæmbəˈrin]
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- Noun:
- a shallow drum with a single drumhead and with metallic disks in the sides
Word Origin
- tambourine
- tambourine: [16] Tambourine is one of a small family of English words that go back ultimately to Persian tabīr ‘drum’. This found its way via Provençal tabor and Old French tabour into English as tabor ‘small drum’ [13]. The Persian word was adopted into Arabic, where it was swallowed up by the similar-sounding tambūr ‘lute’ – so that tambūr now meant ‘drum’. This was borrowed into Old French as tambour, and passed on to English as tambour [15]. Tambourine comes from a French diminutive form.=> tabor
- tambourine (n.)
- 1782, in the modern sense of "parchment-covered hoop with pieces of metal attached;" earlier "a small drum" (1570s), from French tambourin "long narrow drum used in Provence," diminutive of tambour "drum," altered by influence of Arabic tunbur "lute," from Old French tabour (see tabor). The sense evolutions present some difficulties, and in some 17c. and early 18c. references it is difficult to say what sort of instrument is intended. Earlier names for this type of instrument were tambour de basque (1680s), also timbre and timbrel. Tambour itself is attested in English from late 15c., and Shakespeare has tabourine.
Example
- 1. Who 's that girl playing a white tambourine ?
- 2. The tambourine becomes a camel .
- 3. I 'll even bring my tambourine and maybe we could all jam .
- 4. The tambourine makes the sound like this .
- 5. Other maltese music is folk music with emphasis on guitar and tambourine ; instrumental music is called daqqaqa .