timbre

timbre

the characteristic quality of a sound: The timbre of his voice was unique.

Not to be confused with:

timber – wood, especially when suitable for building purposes: Stack the timber next to the house.

Abused, Confused, & Misused Words by Mary Embree Copyright © 2007, 2013 by Mary Embree

tim·bre

 (tăm′bər, tĭm′-)

n.

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

2. Distinctive character: the timbre of the painter's work.

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[French, from Old French, drum, clapperless bell, probably from Medieval Greek *timbanon, drum, from Greek tumpanon, kettledrum.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

timbre

(ˈtɪmbə; ˈtæmbə; French tɛ̃brə)

n

1. (Phonetics & Phonology) phonetics the distinctive tone quality differentiating one vowel or sonant from another

2. (Music, other) music tone colour or quality of sound, esp a specific type of tone colour

[C19: from French: note of a bell, from Old French: drum, from Medieval Greek timbanon, from Greek tumpanon drum]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

tim•bre

(ˈtæm bər, ˈtɪm-; Fr. ˈtɛ̃ br^ə)

n.

1. the characteristic quality of a sound, independent of pitch and loudness, depending on the number and relative strengths of its component frequencies, as determined by resonance.

2. the characteristic quality of sound produced by a particular instrument or voice; tone color.

[1325–75; Middle English tymbre < French: sound (orig. of bell), Middle French: bell, timbrel, drum, Old French: drum « Medieval Greek tímbanon, variant of Greek týmpanon drum]

Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

timbre - (music) the distinctive property of a complex sound (a voice or noise or musical sound); "the timbre of her soprano was rich and lovely"; "the muffled tones of the broken bell summoned them to meet" tone, quality, timber sound property - an attribute of sound harmonic - any of a series of musical tones whose frequencies are integral multiples of the frequency of a fundamental resonance - the quality imparted to voiced speech sounds by the action of the resonating chambers of the throat and mouth and nasal cavities coloration, colouration, color, colour - the timbre of a musical sound; "the recording fails to capture the true color of the original music" nasality - a quality of the voice that is produced by nasal resonators plangency, reverberance, sonority, sonorousness, vibrancy, ringing, resonance - having the character of a loud deep sound; the quality of being resonant stridence, stridency, shrillness - having the timbre of a loud high-pitched sound register - (music) the timbre that is characteristic of a certain range and manner of production of the human voice or of different pipe organ stops or of different musical instruments music - an artistic form of auditory communication incorporating instrumental or vocal tones in a structured and continuous manner

Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

timbre

noun tone, sound, ring, resonance, colour, tonality, tone colour, quality of sound His voice had a deep timbre.

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

timbre

noun

A sound of distinct pitch and quality:

tonality, tone, tone color.

The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Translations

Timbre

ηχόχρωμα

ton

timbro

тембр

timbre

[ˈtæmbrə] N (Mus) [of instrument, voice] → timbre m

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

timbre

[ˈtæmbə^r] n → timbre m

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

timbre

, (US) timber

n → Timbre nt; (Phon) → Tonqualität f

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

timbre

[ˈtɪmbəʳ] n → timbro

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995