timbre

[ tam-ber, tim-; French tan-bruh ]

noun

1. Acoustics, Phonetics. the characteristic quality of a sound, independent of pitch and loudness, from which its source or manner of production can be inferred. Timbre depends on the relative strengths of the components of different frequencies, which are determined by resonance.
2. Music. the characteristic quality of sound produced by a particular instrument or voice; tone color.
3. characteristic tone of expression:

   the masterful rhythm and timbre of his writing.

timbre

/ ˈtæmbə; ˈtɪmbə; tɛ̃brə /

noun

1. phonetics the distinctive tone quality differentiating one vowel or sonant from another
2. music tone colour or quality of sound, esp a specific type of tone colour

Word History and Origins

Origin of timbre¹

First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English tymbre, from Middle French “clapperless bell, bell rung by a hammer,” from Old French “small drum, drum,” from Latin tympanum “timbrel, drum,” from Greek týmpanon “timbrel, kettledrum, drum”

Word History and Origins

Origin of timbre¹

C19: from French: note of a bell, from Old French: drum, from Medieval Greek timbanon, from Greek tumpanon drum

Example Sentences

Squint hard and some of her melodies and timbres start to resemble those of Vashti Bunyan, or Elliott Smith, or Hope Sandoval, but each of those impressions tend to vanish faster than they form.

From Washington Post

There’s the timbre and pitch, which refer to where a voice falls on a span of notes from low to high.

From Singularity Hub 

The timbre of Willie’s distinctive voice and the swirling guitar work of Tame Impala expressed nuances that can get buried on less competent gear.

From Popular-Science

The first predicts, from a passage of text, the broad strokes of what a speaker will sound like—including accent, pitch, and timbre.

From MIT Technology Review

Now the original question — how much you care about getting as many people as possible who are eligible to vote to actually do so — takes on a new timbre.

From Washington Post

He has a voice not dissimilar in timbre and penetrative ability to the incredibly annoying comedian Stephen Merchant.

From The Daily Beast

The power, timbre, and range of her voice made her performance the best part of the night.

From The Daily Beast

The cat ceased snarling and presently began a loud purring which seemed to increase in timbre as he stroked her.

From The Daily Beast

You can see this poetry realized in the timbre and pace of the “mad as hell” speech.

From The Daily Beast

Each of the clones behaves in her own unique way, each with her own distinctive body language, timbre, and sensibilities.

From The Daily Beast

It was not an ordinary blast, but had a peculiarly musical timbre, very much like the note of a mouth-organ.

From Project Gutenberg

He had the gift of telling a story: some peculiar timbre in the voice, some direct dramatic touch.

From Project Gutenberg

This variety in the shape of the waves results in the difference in timbre between various tones.

From Project Gutenberg

Carrying the same principle into song, we find that a voice naturally shows the timbre appropriate to the mood.

From Project Gutenberg

Her voice was a modified edition of her mother's, lazy, rich and sweet, but with keener timbre.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• accent
• inflection
• intonation
• overtone
• resonance
• tonality