Tambourine
/ˌtæm.bəˈriːn/noun
A small frame drum with pairs of metal jingles, played by shaking or striking.
Did you know?Tambourine ultimately comes from French and Arabic words for a drum, and it shares a distant ancestor with English words like tub and timbrel through the old idea of a hollow vessel or drum-shaped object.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*tem-
“to cut, form, or make from wood”
Latin
Latin
tympanum
“a drum, tambourine, or wheel-like circular object”
Arabic
Arabic
ṭanbūr
“a long-necked stringed instrument; later a drum-like instrument in some borrowing chains”
Old French
Old French
tamborin
“a small drum”
Middle English
English
tambourin
“a small drum or tambourine”
Modern English
English
tambourine
“a small frame drum with jingles”