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Tablas

[tahb-luh s]
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noun
  1. an island in the Sibuyan Sea, Philippines, one of the Romblon Islands. 265 sq. mi. (686 sq. km).
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tabla

[tah-bluh, tuhb-luh]
noun
  1. a small drum or pair of drums of India tuned to different pitches and played with the hands.
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Origin of tabla

1860–65; earlier tubla < Hindi tablā < Arabic ṭabla, derivative of ṭabl drum
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for tablas

Historical Examples

  • Tablas, in the Spanish tables, probably the game of draughts.

    The Boy's Book of Heroes

    Helena Peake

  • Roofs are transverse beams (vigas), which in turn hold small cross branches (savinos) or planks (tablas).

  • About two leagues from the island of Tablas—or, as it is also called, Osigan—lies the island of Simara.

  • The island of Donblon lies between Çibuyan and the island of Tablas.

British Dictionary definitions for tablas

tabla

noun
  1. a musical instrument of India consisting of a pair of drums whose pitches can be varied
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Word Origin

Hindu, from Arabic tabla drum
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for tablas

tabla

n.

pair of drums used in northern Indian music, 1865, from Hindi, from Arabic tabl "a drum played with the hand."

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper