Tombak
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 A type of goblet drum used heavily in Persian music.
"MOHAMMAD REZA SHAJARIAN (Thursday) Renowned in his native Iran, the vocalist Mohammad Reza Shajarian has been performing since the 1960s, and is now widely considered one of the finest classical Persian singers in the world. Mr. Shajarian’s son, Homayoun Shajarian, will provide additional vocals and tombak (goblet drum), while Ensemble Ava, a four-piece, will contribute additional instrumentation on the ancient Persian instruments barbat (short-necked lute), tar (long-necked lute), kamancheh (spike fiddle) and daf (frame drum)."
- 2 A brass alloy also known as red-bronze, usually containing 82-99% copper and the rest usually zinc. uncountable
- 3 an alloy of copper and zinc (and sometimes arsenic) used to imitate gold in cheap jewelry and for gilding wordnet
Example
More examples"MOHAMMAD REZA SHAJARIAN (Thursday) Renowned in his native Iran, the vocalist Mohammad Reza Shajarian has been performing since the 1960s, and is now widely considered one of the finest classical Persian singers in the world. Mr. Shajarian’s son, Homayoun Shajarian, will provide additional vocals and tombak (goblet drum), while Ensemble Ava, a four-piece, will contribute additional instrumentation on the ancient Persian instruments barbat (short-necked lute), tar (long-necked lute), kamancheh (spike fiddle) and daf (frame drum)."
Etymology
Borrowed from Persian تنبک (tonbak). Doublet of dumbek.
From Dutch, from Malay tembaga (“copper”), from Sanskrit ताम्र (tāmra). Entered Dutch usage during colonial period. Doublet of tumbaga.
Related phrases
More for "tombak"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.