tambour
1 of 2noun
tam·bour ˈtam-ˌbu̇r 
tam-ˈbu̇r
1
: drum entry 1 sense 1
2
a
: an embroidery frame
especially : a set of two interlocking hoops between which cloth is stretched before stitching
b
: embroidery made on a tambour frame
3
: a shallow metallic cup or drum with a thin elastic membrane supporting a writing lever used to transmit and register slight motions (such as arterial pulsations)
4
: a rolling top or front (as of a rolltop desk) of narrow strips of wood glued on canvas
tambour
2 of 2verb
tamboured; tambouring; tambours
transitive verb
: to embroider (cloth) with tambour
intransitive verb
: to work at a tambour frame
tambourer noun
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web
Charles Curkin, ELLE Decor, 18 July 2022 Flexible tambour sheets wrap snuggly around the posts at the end of the bar that would have been too costly to relocate. BostonGlobe.com, 2 Apr. 2021 Tuttle wrapped the bar in wood tambour paneling painted Farrow & Ball Hague Blue. BostonGlobe.com, 2 Apr. 2021 The tambours can easily be swapped out, no tools required. Elizabeth Gulino, House Beautiful, 21 Feb. 2019 This collection features eight killer tracks from the 70s and 80s, with Hassan accompanying his own soulful singing on amplified tambour-a five-string lyre-over percolating Daleeb rhythms from northern Sudan. Peter Margasak, Chicago Reader, 13 June 2018
Noun
Inspired by feng shui principals, the architects clad the island, storage spaces, and appliances entirely in undulating pale oak tambour. Charles Curkin, ELLE Decor, 18 July 2022 Flexible tambour sheets wrap snuggly around the posts at the end of the bar that would have been too costly to relocate. BostonGlobe.com, 2 Apr. 2021 Tuttle wrapped the bar in wood tambour paneling painted Farrow & Ball Hague Blue. BostonGlobe.com, 2 Apr. 2021 The tambours can easily be swapped out, no tools required. Elizabeth Gulino, House Beautiful, 21 Feb. 2019 This collection features eight killer tracks from the 70s and 80s, with Hassan accompanying his own soulful singing on amplified tambour-a five-string lyre-over percolating Daleeb rhythms from northern Sudan. Peter Margasak, Chicago Reader, 13 June 2018 Word History
Etymology
Noun
Middle French, drum, from Arabic ṭanbūr, modification of Persian tabīr
First Known Use
Noun
15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Verb
1774, in the meaning defined at transitive sense
Medical Definition
tambour
noun
tam·bour ˈtam-ˌbu̇(ə)r, tam-ˈ
: a shallow metallic cup or drum with a thin elastic membrane supporting a writing lever used to transmit and register slight motions (as arterial pulsations and peristaltic contractions)