tambour

[ tam-boor, tam-boor ]

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 ¹( def 10 ).
7. Court Tennis. a sloping buttress opposite the penthouse, on the hazard side of the court.

verb (used with or without object)

1. to embroider on a tambour.

tambour

/ 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

verb

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of tambour¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of tambour¹

C15: from French, from tabour tabor

Example Sentences

But when she tried her hand at drapo, which traditionally involved only sequins, she found that tambour and beadwork opened new possibilities in contour, depth and detail.

From New York Times

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

From BBC

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

By adding a sixth string to his tambour, and sometimes wiring it to an amp, Abu Obaida stormed the Khartoum music scene.

From The Guardian

They watched as the jewelry was rolled along the sidewalk in distinctive carts with robin’s egg-blue tambour doors.

From New York Times