Timbre meaning

tăm'bər, tĭm'-
Timbre is defined as the characteristic quality of tone that makes two voices or sounds different.

An example of timbre is the warm tone of Nat King Cole’s voice.

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The combination of qualities of a sound that distinguishes it from other sounds of the same pitch and volume.
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Distinctive character.

The timbre of the painter's work.

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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.
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A quality of sound that distinguishes one voice or musical instrument from another. For example, MIDI synthesizers are multi-timbral, meaning that they can play multiple instruments simultaneously.
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Origin of timbre

  • French from Old French drum, clapperless bell probably from Medieval Greek timbanon drum from Greek tumpanon kettledrum
    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

Timbre Sentence Examples

  • Hence we must put down the quality or timbre as depending on the form.

  • The Scottish timbre is rarely wanting, even in places where scholastic or classical custom might have claimed, as in other literatures, an exclusive privilege.

  • The quality or timbre of sound, i.e.

  • The substance which determines the form of a column of air is demonstrabl y indifferent for the timbre or quality of tone so long as the sides of the tubes are equally elastic and rigid.

  • Timbre itself is, as Helmholtz shows, a kind of harmony felt but not heard.

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Words near timbre in the Dictionary