timbre
pronunciation
How to pronounce timbre in British English:
UK [ˈtæmbə(r)]
How to pronounce timbre in American English:
US [ˈtæmbɚ, ˈtɪm-]
-
- Noun:
- (music) the distinctive property of a complex sound (a voice or noise or musical sound)
Word Origin
- timbre
- timbre: see timpani
- timbre (n.)
- "characteristic quality of a musical sound," 1849, from French timbre "quality of a sound," earlier "sound of a bell," from Old French, "bell without a clapper," originally "small drum," probably via Medieval Greek *timbanon, from Greek tympanon "kettledrum" (see tympanum). Timbre was used in Old French (13c.) and Middle English (14c.) to render Latin tympanum in Ps. 150.
Example
- 1. The strings are said to have a " soft and profound timbre " relative to traditional gut or steel strings .
- 2. Its new system can encode the distinctive timbre of this by analysing about an hour 's worth of recordings .
- 3. Music is most likely to tingle the spine , in short , when it includes surprises in volume , timbre and harmonic pattern .
- 4. Similarly , the " rousing " or " joyous " timbre of a trumpet attests to its jagged array of harmonics .
- 5. As we struggle to find our individual voices , I believe we must look beyond the voice we 've been assigned , and find our place among the tones and timbre of human expression .