tambourine

英文词源

tambourine

tambourine: [16] Tambourine is one of a small family of English words that go back ultimately to Persian tabīr ‘drum’. This found its way via Provençal tabor and Old French tabour into English as tabor ‘small drum’ [13]. The Persian word was adopted into Arabic, where it was swallowed up by the similar-sounding tambūr ‘lute’ – so that tambūr now meant ‘drum’. This was borrowed into Old French as tambour, and passed on to English as tambour [15]. Tambourine comes from a French diminutive form.
=> tabor

tambourine (n.)

1782, in the modern sense of "parchment-covered hoop with pieces of metal attached;" earlier "a small drum" (1570s), from French tambourin "long narrow drum used in Provence," diminutive of tambour "drum," altered by influence of Arabic tunbur "lute," from Old French tabour (see tabor).

The sense evolutions present some difficulties, and in some 17c. and early 18c. references it is difficult to say what sort of instrument is intended. Earlier names for this type of instrument were tambour de basque (1680s), also timbre and timbrel. Tambour itself is attested in English from late 15c., and Shakespeare has tabourine.