Timbrel

//ˈtɪmbɹəl// noun, verb

noun, verb ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    An ancient percussion instrument rather like a simple tambourine.

    "Hence the soft couch, and many-colour'd robe, The timbrel and arch'd dome and costly feast, With all th' inventive arts that nurse the soul To forms of beauty […]"

  2. 2
    small hand drum similar to a tambourine; formerly carried by itinerant jugglers wordnet
Verb
  1. 1
    To play the timbrel. intransitive
  2. 2
    To accompany with the sound of the timbrel. transitive

    "with timbrelled anthems"

Synonyms

All synonyms
bongo drumcongadrumdrumheaddrumskindrumstick

Example

More examples

"So Mary the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a timbrel in her hand: and all the women went forth after her with timbrels and with dances."

Etymology

Diminutive of Old French timbre, from Latin tympanum.

Related phrases

percussion instrument

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.