Etymology

timbre

T1I1M3B3R1E1

Today it means: The quality of a sound independent of its pitch and volume. Full definition →

French timbre ← Ancient Greek τύμπανον
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The story

  1. Ancient Greek · derived fromτύμπανον“drum”
  2. French · borrowed fromtimbre
  3. English todaytimbre

From French timbre, ultimately from Ancient Greek τύμπανον (túmpanon, “drum”). Doublet of tympanum, timpani, timbal, and tymbal.

Words from the same roots

Ancient Greekτύμπανον all →

timpanitympanitestympanoidtympany

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.