tambourine
TAM-buh-reen · noun
Origin
Tambourine comes from French tambourin, meaning 'little drum,' itself from French tambour, 'drum.' That word traces back further to Arabic ṭunbūr, related to the Persian tanbūr.
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Journey
The word moved from a general Arabic and Persian term into French, where it narrowed into tambour ('drum') and then tambourin, a diminutive naming a smaller drum — the shape English borrowed directly.
Related words
It shares its root with tambour, the plain French word for 'drum,' from which tambourine was diminutively formed.