timbre

See also tîmbre, and Timbre

English

WOTD – 5 January 2012    

Etymology

French, a bell to be struck with a hammer, sound, tone, stamp, crest, in Old French, a timbrel. Compare timbrel.

Pronunciation

• (UK) enPR: tăm'bə(r), IPA: /ˈtæmbə(ɹ)/, X-SAMPA: /"t{mb@(r)/
• (US) enPR: tăm'bə(r), tĭm'bə(r), IPA: /ˈtæm.bɚ/, /ˈtɪm.bɚ/, X-SAMPA: /"t{mb@`/, /"tImb@`/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Homophone: timber (for one of the above US pronunciations)

Noun

timbre (plural timbres)

1. The quality of a sound independent of its pitch and volume.
2. (heraldry) The crest on a coat of arms.

Translations

quality of a sound independent of its pitch and volume

• Bulgarian: тембър (bg) (tembǎr) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 音色 (cmn) (yīnsè)

• Czech: barva zvuku (cs) m
• Dutch: klankkleur (nl) f, timbre (nl) n
• Finnish: sointiväri (fi)
• French: timbre (fr) m
• German: Klangfarbe (de) f, Timbre (de) n

• Greek: ηχόχρωμα (el) (ichochroma) n
• Icelandic: hljómblær (is) m, tónblær (is) m
• Italian: timbro (it) m
• Japanese: 音色 (ja) (ねいろ, neiro)
• Portuguese: timbre (pt) m
• Russian: тембр (ru) (tɛmbr) m
• Spanish: timbre (es) m
• Swedish: klang (sv) c, klangfärg (sv) c, timbre (sv) c

Anagrams

• timber

---

French

Pronunciation

• IPA: /tɛ̃bʁ/

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

timbre m (plural timbres)

1. small bell
2. (postage) stamp, postage stamp
3. stamp (mark)
4. (music) timbre

Derived terms

• timbrer

---

Old French

Noun

timbre m (oblique plural timbres, nominative singular timbres, nominative plural timbre)

1. timbrel

---

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈtim.bɾe/
• Rhymes: -imbɾe

Wikipedia ^es

Wikipedia ^es

Etymology 1

From French timbre "quality of a sound", and earlier "sound of a bell", in Old French "bell without a clapper, drum", via Byzantine Greek from Ancient Greek τύμπανον (tympanon) "drum".

Noun

timbre m (plural timbres)

1. bell
2. doorbell
3. stamp
4. postmark
5. seal
6. timbre

Synonyms

• (bell): campana
• (stamp): sello
• (postmark): matasellos
• (seal): sello

Related terms

• timbrar
• timbrazo

Etymology 2

Verb

timbre (infinitive timbrar)

1. First-person singular (yo) present subjunctive form of timbrar.
2. Formal second-person singular (usted) present subjunctive form of timbrar.
3. Third-person singular (él, ella, also used with usted^?) present subjunctive form of timbrar.