tambourine

[ tam-buh-reen ]

noun
  1. a small drum consisting of a circular frame with a skin stretched over it and several pairs of metal jingles attached to the frame, played by striking with the knuckles, shaking, and the like.

Origin of tambourine

1
1570–80; earlier tamboryne<Middle Dutch tamborijn small drum <Middle French tambourin or Medieval Latin tamborīnum.See tambour, -ine1

Other words from tambourine

  • tam·bou·rin·ist, noun

Words Nearby tambourine

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use tambourine in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for tambourine

tambourine

/ (ˌtæmbəˈriːn) /


noun
  1. music a percussion instrument consisting of a single drumhead of skin stretched over a circular wooden frame hung with pairs of metal discs that jingle when it is struck or shaken

Origin of tambourine

1
C16: from Middle Flemish tamborijn a little drum, from Old French: tambourin

Derived forms of tambourine

  • tambourinist, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012