tambour

American  

[tam-boor, tam-boor] / ˈtæm bʊər, tæmˈbʊər /

noun

1. Music. a drum.

2. a drum player.

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

4. embroidery done on such a frame.

5. 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.

6. Architecture. drum.

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

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verb (used with or without object)

1. to embroider on a tambour.

tambour British  

/ ˈtæmbʊə /

noun

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

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

3. embroidered work done on such a frame

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

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

6. a drum

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verb

1. to embroider (fabric or a design) on a tambour

Etymology

Origin of tambour

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

Example Sentences

“This is Jean-Pierre Calodat,” said Josée Grard, 81, running her fingers along the name written on the globe-shaped sculpture as tambour drums echoed around her.

From New York Times • Jan. 25, 2024

It is a hybrid instrument - his invention - combining the neck of an guitar with a traditional four-stringed tambour.

From BBC • Dec. 3, 2022

They use a tambour hook technique called Lunéville, named after the town in Lorraine where it emerged around 1810, having traveled the Silk Road from Asia.

From New York Times • Oct. 11, 2021

An enclosed galley is amidships, adjacent to a family-style dining/game room area that can be closed off with a sliding tambour bulkhead.

From Time Magazine Archive

Gabrielle was singing softly as she bent over her tambour frame.

From A Blot on the Scutcheon by Knowles, Mabel Winifred