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timbre

[tam-ber, tim-; Fr. tan-br^uh]

noun

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.

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

Can be confused: timber, timbre.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Timbre is always a great word to know.

So is flibbertigibbet. Does it mean:

a chattering or flighty, light-headed person.

a gadget; dingus; thingumbob.

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Example Sentences

The subtlest reason that pop music is so flavorful to our brains is that it relies so strongly on timbre.

It's not the accent so much as the timbre of the voice.

Your albums suggest you are a listener who pays special attention to timbre.

EXPAND

The subtlest reason that pop music is so flavorful to our brains is that it relies so strongly on timbre.

It's not the accent so much as the timbre of the voice.

Your albums suggest you are a listener who pays special attention to timbre.

In the blues, as he shows, the singer's vocal timbre drives the emotional impact of the song as much as the lyrics.

It's more the particulars of the combat, or even the emotional timbre of the quests, that forms the games' culture.

It's the language, not the tone or timbre of your voice, that provides the identifying information.

Synthesizers played from saxophone/clarinet-type controllers where breath pressure contolled the amplitude and timbre of a sound.

Her voice had a distinctively warm timbre and her natural vocal inflection was filled with fascinating colors and highlights.

Midrange instrumentation is needed to augment the singer's unique timbre.

But his voice was thin and wooden in timbre at the outset and never seemed to warm up altogether.

The unusual timbre of his mind is immediately apparent.

In audio, the result is improved tonal clarity and truer timbre.

Possessed of an unusually rich pop baritone, he exploited his virile timbre for all of its considerable seductive power.

It wasn't easy to go back to a previous timbre once a knob had been touched even slightly.

The timbre is right, the sheer staying power is impressive and the instincts are those of a born actress.

Her slightly smoky timbre keeps her singing from becoming too sweet.

Röschmann sang with a plummy, nuanced voice notable for its attractive timbre and range of colors.

Fifty years ago that sound, with its unusually rich timbre was synonymous with.

Neither in bulk nor in timbre were those speakers suitably domesticated.

Manuguerra's sometimes dry timbre has been harshly criticized in other roles.

Her curious timbre resembles that of a countertenor, or even of a castrato.

Rosenshein's intelligent, sensitive phrasing forced one to set aside any qualms about his timbre or vocal weight.

Sherman's vocal timbre implies a pre-adolescent vulnerability.

COLLAPSE

Collins

World English Dictionary

timbre (ˈtɪmbə, ˈtæmbə, French tɛ̃brə)

—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
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source

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

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in O.Fr. (13c.) and M.E. (14c.) to render L. tympanum in Ps. 150.

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"A poet is a combination of an instrument and a human being in one person, with the former gradually taking over the latter. The sensation of this takeover is responsible for timbre; the realization of it, for destiny."

-Joseph Brodsky

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timbre

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