tambourine

Where does the word "tambourine" come from? It comes from Arabic/Persian tunbur, passing through French before entering English (1500s).

Tambourine’s story begins in Arabic/Persian: tunbur meant “a musical instrument.” A stringed or percussion instrument, root of several drum names. By 1500s, the word had taken hold in French as tambourin. Carried into French for the small hand-held drum with jingling discs. It reached English by 1500s as tambourine. Settled as the English word for the percussion instrument. Today, tambourine means a small percussion instrument with jingling metal discs around a frame.

1. Stage 1 · Arabic/Persian · medieval tunbur "a musical instrument", a stringed or percussion instrument, root of several drum names.
2. Stage 2 · French · 1500s tambourin "a small hand-held drum with jingles", carried into French for the small hand-held drum with jingling discs.
3. Stage 3 · English · 1500s tambourine "a small hand-held drum with jingling discs", settled as the English word for the percussion instrument.