English
timbre
Timbre comes from French timbre ‘small bell’, and goes back to Ancient Greek τύμπανον ‘drum’.
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEτύμπανονtúmpanon‘drum’
- Frenchc. 1600–presenttimbre‘small bell’
- Englishearliest quotation 1492same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEτύμπανονtúmpanon‘drum’
- Frenchc. 1600–presenttimbre‘small bell’
- Englishearliest quotation 1492same form
Earliest quotation: 1492, "Confirmation of arms with difference an, Garter: “Quarterly the First quarter Siluer …, The second Siluer…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *(s)tewp- ‘to push, beat’
stop, type, stuff, steep, stubborn, stub, stupendous, 18 more
through Ancient Greek τῠ́πτω ‘to strike, beat, smite’
through Ancient Greek τύμπανον ‘drum’
Today it means
noun The quality of a sound independent of its pitch and volume.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Ancient Greek τύμπανον / timbre