drum

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Jump to navigation Jump to search
See also: Drum

English[edit]

A drum (instrument).
A scanning machine including a large drum (cylindrical object).
Cable drums
English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia

Pronunciation[edit]

  • IPA(key): /ˈdɹʌm/
  • Audio (US)(file)
  • Audio (AU)(file)
  • Rhymes: -ʌm

Etymology 1[edit]

Perhaps back-formation from drumslade (“drummer”), from Middle Dutch trommelslach (“drumbeat”), from trommel (“drum”) + slach (“beat”) (Dutch slag).

Or perhaps borrowed directly from a continental Germanic language; compare Middle Dutch tromme (“drum”), Middle Low German trumme (“drum”) et al. Compare also Middle High German trumme, trumbe (“drum”), Old High German trumba (“trumpet”).

Noun[edit]

drum (plural drums)

  2. A percussive musical instrument spanned with a thin covering on at least one end for striking, forming an acoustic chamber; a membranophone.
    Hypernym: percussion instrument
    He's playing the piano and she's playing the drums!
  3. Any similar hollow, cylindrical object.
    Replace the drum unit of your printer.
  5. A barrel or large cylindrical container for liquid transport and storage.
    The restaurant ordered ketchup in 50-gallon drums.
  6. (US) Synonym of construction barrel
  8. (architecture) The encircling wall that supports a dome or cupola.
  9. (architecture) Any of the cylindrical blocks that make up the shaft of a pillar.
  10. A drumfish (family Sciaenidae).
  11. (Australia slang) A tip; a piece of information.
    • 1985, Peter Carey, Illywhacker, Faber and Faber, published 2003, page 258:
      ‘he is the darndest little speaker we got, so better sit there and listen to him while he gives you the drum and if you clean out your earholes you might get a bit of sense into your heads.’
  12. (boxing, slang, obsolete) The ear.
Usage notes[edit]

When used in the plural, "drums" or "the drums" often specifically means a drum kit as used for contemporary styles such as rock or jazz; a classical percussionist would be very unlikely to say that they "play the drums" on a piece, even if the only parts they play are, indeed, drums (as opposed to marimba or xylophone or similar.)

Derived terms[edit]
Translations[edit]
See also[edit]

Verb[edit]

drum (third-person singular simple present drums, present participle drumming, simple past and past participle drummed)

  1. (intransitive) To beat a drum.
  2. (transitive, intransitive) To beat with a rapid succession of strokes.
    The ruffed grouse drums with his wings.
  3. (transitive) To drill or review in an attempt to establish memorization.
    • 1978 December 9, Pat M. Kuras, “A Splice of Lesbian Life”, in Gay Community News, volume 6, number 20, page 11:
      Those long ago memories of gnawing sexuality clashing against drummed in prejudice.
    He’s still trying to drum Spanish verb conjugations into my head.
  4. To throb, as the heart.
    • 1690, [John] Dryden, Don Sebastian, King of Portugal: […], London: […] Jo. Hindmarsh, […], →OCLC, (please specify the page number):
      Now, heart, […] thou shalt drum no more.
  5. To go about, as a drummer does, to gather recruits, to draw or secure partisans, customers, etc.; used with for.
  6. Of various animals, to make a vocalisation or mechanical sound that resembles drumming.
    • 1886, Peter Christen Asbjørnsen, translated by H.L. Brækstad, Folk and Fairy Tales, page 85:
      "There is the snipe drumming also. We shall have it fine!" he added, with an air of conviction.
Derived terms[edit]
Translations[edit]

Etymology 2[edit]

From Irish druim, Scottish Gaelic druim (“back, ridge”).

Noun[edit]

drum (plural drums)

  1. (now rare) A small hill or ridge of hills.
Usage notes[edit]
  • Mainly encountered in place names, such as Drumglass and Drumsheugh.

Etymology 3[edit]

Unknown.

Noun[edit]

drum (plural drums)

  1. (now historical) A social gathering or assembly held in the evening. [from 18th c.]
  2. (slang, chiefly UK) A person's home; a house or other building, especially when insalubrious; a tavern, a brothel. [from 19th c.]
Derived terms[edit]
  • drummer (housebreaker; travelling salesman)

Etymology 4[edit]

Shortening.

Noun[edit]

drum (plural drums)

  1. (informal) A drumstick (of chicken, turkey, etc).
    • 2006, Helene Andreu, Dance, movemet, and nutrition, AuthorHouse, →ISBN, page 138:
      Add, thinly sliced, 1/2 to 1 onion and 2 cloves of garlic also sliced, your choice of protein – chicken or turkey breast, or low fat beef, veal, lamb or pork, cut in pieces, or skinless chicken drums, and probably a little water. Then add 1/2 a cup of ...
    • 2010, Nadejda Reilly, Ukrainian Cuisine with an American Touch and Ingredients, →ISBN, page 253:
      In a large frying pan, add some canola oil and half of the chicken drums and brown them on both sides. Repeat the procedure until all drums are browned. Place them in a medium baking pan. To the browned chicken drums, add sliced onion, ...
    • 2010, Lisa Lamme, The Gypsy Kitchen: Transform Almost Nothing into Something Delicious with Not-So-Secret Ingredients, Simon and Schuster, →ISBN:
      3–5 pounds chicken drums and thighs, with skin
      Hot sauce to taste
      1. In a gallon resealable plastic bag, add flour, pepper, and salt. Shake to mix. […]
    • 2016, Melanie Mah, The Sweetest One, Cormorant Books, →ISBN:
      Up top, a pained expression, her eating face. My mom doesn't eat for taste, she does it to stay alive. Probably wouldn't eat if she didn't have to. I grab a new chopstick and when I get back there's a chicken drum on my plate. “Thanks, Ba,” I say.
    • 2016, Astroglo DeCerveau, A Book of Good and Bad Things, Xlibris Corporation, →ISBN:
      To stir the whole, he used a chicken drum.
    • 2017, Daniel Young, Stuart Barnes, Tincture Journal Issue Eighteen (Winter 2017), Tincture Journal, →ISBN:
      When noon came the next day, the two guards came in with a plate of […] chicken drums and pork braised in soy sauce, plus some vegetables.

References[edit]

  • “drum”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.

Aromanian[edit]

Alternative forms[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Borrowed from Greek δρόμος (drómos, “road, track”). Compare Romanian drum.

Noun[edit]

drum n (plural drumuri)

  1. road

Synonyms[edit]

See also[edit]

Dutch[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Borrowed from English drum.

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

drum m (plural drums, diminutive drummetje n)

  1. (music) drum, usually one belonging to a drum kit

Synonyms[edit]

Derived terms[edit]

German[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Adverb[edit]

drum

  1. Contraction of darum.

Further reading[edit]

  • “drum” in Duden online
  • “drum” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache

Italian[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From the tobacco brand.

Noun[edit]

drum m (invariable)

  1. roll-your-own cigarette

Romanian[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Borrowed from Greek δρόμος (drómos, “road, track”).

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

drum n (plural drumuri)

  1. road

Declension[edit]

Declension of drum
singular plural
indefinite articulation definite articulation indefinite articulation definite articulation
nominative/accusative (un) drum drumul (niște) drumuri drumurile
genitive/dative (unui) drum drumului (unor) drumuri drumurilor
vocative drumule drumurilor

Related terms[edit]

See also[edit]

Further reading[edit]

Language in Danger Andrew Dalby, 2003

Serbo-Croatian[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Borrowed from Greek δρόμος (drómos, “road, track”).

Noun[edit]

drȕm m (Cyrillic spelling дру̏м)

  1. road

Declension[edit]

Declension of drum
singular plural
nominative drȕm drùmovi
genitive drùma drùmōvā
dative drùmu drùmovima
accusative drȕm drùmove
vocative drȕme drùmovi
locative drùmu drùmovima
instrumental drùmom drùmovima
Retrieved from "https://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=drum&oldid=79176376"