timbre Hear it!

timbre definition

tim·bre (tam′bər; also, tim′-; Fr tan′br')

noun

the characteristic quality of sound that distinguishes one voice or musical instrument from another or one vowel sound from another: it is determined by the harmonics of the sound and is distinguished from the intensity and pitch

Etymology: Fr, timbre, earlier, sound of a bell < MFr, ball struck by a hammer < OFr, a kind of drum < LGr tymbanon < Gr tympanon: see tympan

Related Forms:

  • timbral tim′·bral (-brəl) adjective

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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"Foreign" Languages, timbre, intonation71 month ago

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