Tumba
/ˈtʊm.bə/noun
A large drum or a type of percussion instrument, especially in Latin music.
Did you know?The word ultimately comes from African and Caribbean musical traditions, but its exact path into English is filtered through Spanish and related Romance-language usage, showing how instruments carry culture across oceans.
Etymological Timeline
African languages (pre-colonial)
African
tumba / similar forms
“Names for drums or percussion instruments in several African and Afro-Caribbean traditions”
Colonial era
Spanish
tumba
“A drum or percussion instrument in some regional and musical contexts”
19th-20th Century
English
tumba
“A percussion instrument adopted in Latin and Afro-Caribbean music”
Modern English
English
tumba
“A large hand drum, especially in Latin percussion”