tambour

[ tam-boor, tam-boor ]

/ ˈtæm bʊər, tæmˈbʊər /

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noun

Music. a drum.

a drum player.

Also called tabaret. a circular frame consisting of two hoops, one fitting within the other, in which cloth is stretched for embroidering.

embroidery done on such a frame.

Furniture. a flexible shutter used as a desk top or in place of a door, composed of a number of closely set wood strips attached to a piece of cloth, the whole sliding in grooves along the sides or at the top and bottom.

Architecture. drum¹ (def. 10).

Court Tennis. a sloping buttress opposite the penthouse, on the hazard side of the court.

verb (used with or without object)

to embroider on a tambour.

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Origin of tambour

1475–85; <Middle French: drum ≪ Arabic tanbūr lute <Medieval Greek pandoúra;cf. bandore

Words nearby tambour

tambac, tambala, Tambo, Tambocor, Tambora, tambour, tamboura, tambourin, tambourine, tambour sound, Tambov

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use tambour in a sentence

All American Indians are poor in musical instruments, the principal of which, and the heel inspiring one, is the drum or tambour.
Adventures of the Ojibbeway and Ioway Indians in England, France, and Belgium; Vol. I (of 2)|George Catlin
It belongs as much to our art as does tambour work, which is done with a hook instead of a needle.
Needlework As Art|Marian Alford
Chain and Tambour Stitch are in effect practically the same, and present the same rather granular surface.
Art in Needlework|Lewis F. Day
According to Darmstetter the word ‘timbre’ is own brother to ‘tambour,’ both being derived from a low Latin form of tympanum.
Rustic Sounds|Francis Darwin

She set up a great tambour frame in her room, and began to work on an enormous piece of fine needlework.
The Odyssey|Homer

British Dictionary definitions for tambour

tambour

/ (ˈtæmbʊə) /

noun

real tennis the sloping buttress on one side of the receiver's end of the court

a small round embroidery frame, consisting of two concentric hoops over which the fabric is stretched while being worked

embroidered work done on such a frame

a sliding door on desks, cabinets, etc, made of thin strips of wood glued side by side onto a canvas backing

architect a wall that is circular in plan, esp one that supports a dome or one that is surrounded by a colonnade

a drum

verb

to embroider (fabric or a design) on a tambour

Word Origin for tambour

C15: from French, from tabour tabor

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