tim·bre

[tam-ber, tim-; French tan-bruh]
noun
1.
Acoustics, Phonetics. the characteristic quality of a sound, independent of pitch and loudness, from which its source or manner of production can be inferred. Timbre depends on the relative strengths of the components of different frequencies, which are determined by resonance.
2.
Music. the characteristic quality of sound produced by a particular instrument or voice; tone color.

Origin:
1325–75; Middle English tymbre < French: sound (orig. of bell), Middle French: bell, timbrel, drum, Old French: drum < Medieval Greek tímbanon, variant of Greek týmpanon drum

timber, timbre.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
timbre (ˈtɪmbə, ˈtæmbə, French tɛ̃brə) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
n
1.  phonetics the distinctive tone quality differentiating one vowel or sonant from another
2.  music tone colour or quality of sound, esp a specific type of tone colour
 
[C19: from French: note of a bell, from Old French: drum, from Medieval Greek timbanon, from Greek tumpanon drum]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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00:10
Timbre is always a great word to know.
So is ninnyhammer. Does it mean:
a scrap or morsel of food left at a meal.
a fool or simpleton; ninny.
Etymonline
Word Origin & History

timbre
"characteristic quality of a musical sound," 1849, from Fr. timbre "quality of a sound," earlier "sound of a bell," from O.Fr., "bell without a clapper," originally "drum," probably via Medieval Gk. *timbanon, from Gk. tympanon "kettledrum" (see tympanum). Timbre was used
in O.Fr. (13c.) and M.E. (14c.) to render L. tympanum in Ps. 150.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Example sentences
It's the language, not the tone or timbre of your voice, that provides the
  identifying information.
Midrange instrumentation is needed to augment the singer's unique timbre.
Neither in bulk nor in timbre were those speakers suitably domesticated.
It's more the particulars of the combat, or even the emotional timbre of the
  quests, that forms the games' culture.
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