tabla
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of tabla
1860–65; earlier tubla < Hindi tablā < Arabic ṭabla, derivative of ṭabl drum
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Alla Rakha was the loyal tabla partner of Ravi Shankar, who created an international rage for raga in the 1960s, holding sway over the likes violinist Yehudi Menuhin, the Beatles and Philip Glass.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 12, 2025
He became one of the most convincing early proponents of the world music movement, readily fitting in tabla with flamenco as well as with African, Indonesian , Afro-Cuban, you-name-it drumming.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 12, 2025
The sleeve notes credit players of the sitar and the tabla, the Kashmiri santoor and the South Indian kanjira.
From BBC • Sep. 11, 2025
Zakir Hussain, the legendary tabla virtuoso and global ambassador of Indian classical music who has died aged 73, leaves behind a timeless rhythmic legacy that will inspire generations.
From BBC • Dec. 16, 2024
Her old-lady shoes are keeping time with the tabla, and her eyes are focused only on my hands, face, and feet.
From "You Bring the Distant Near" by Mitali Perkins
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
