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

Louis Vuitton celebrates 20 years of making the iconic Tambour watch with a new capsule exhibition in the Jewel Court at South Coast Plaza.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 1, 2022

It appears that Louis Vuitton is launching yet another version of its Tambour Horizon Connected Watches.

From The Verge • Dec. 9, 2021

Jeffrey Tambour stars as a trans woman who decides to transition, and the show follows her and her family as each member tries to figure out who, exactly, they are.

From New York Times • Jul. 25, 2016

I finished the second season of Transparent and was able this time to work with Judith Light and Jeffrey Tambour.

From Slate • Oct. 28, 2015

The Rue de Tambour owes its name either to the statue of a tambourine-player on one of its houses, or to the presence of the town-drummer who lived in it.

From Rheims and the Battles for its Possession Illustrated Michelin Guides to the Battle-Fields (1914-1918) by Various