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goombay

American  
[goom-bey, goom-] / ˈgʊm beɪ, ˈgum- /
Or gumby

noun

  1. Music.

    1. the style of calypso music or rhythm popular in the Bahamas.

    2. Also, goombay drum, a drum used in this genre of music, having a top made of goatskin or sheepskin and played by beating with the hands.

  2. goombay smash.

Etymology

Origin of goombay

Compare Jamaican English gombay a drum, said to be < Kongo ŋgoma, ŋkumbi drum (or a cognate Bantu word)

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.

Famous for its goombay smash; finding it is half the fun.

From Time Magazine Archive

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.