Marimba
/məˈrɪm.bə/noun
A percussion instrument with wooden bars struck by mallets, usually with resonators underneath.
Did you know?Marimba is widely believed to come through Spanish from African languages, with the exact source debated, which is a reminder that some words arrive in history like migrating spirits rather than neat dictionary entries.
Etymological Timeline
Modern English
English
marimba
“A wooden-keyed percussion instrument played with mallets.”
19th Century
Spanish
marimba
“The same instrument name, borrowed into Spanish usage in the Americas.”
Possibly 17th–19th Century
Bantu/African languages
marimba
“A name applied to a struck wooden-key instrument in several African and Afro-diasporic contexts; exact source uncertain.”
Earlier African antecedents
Bantu
-rimba / -limba
“Possible related roots proposed by scholars in some Bantu languages, but no single secure origin is universally accepted.”