timbre

noun

tim·​bre ˈtam-bər  ˈtim-  ˈtam(brᵊ) 

variants or less commonly timber

: the quality given to a sound by its overtones: such as

a

: the resonance by which the ear recognizes and identifies a voiced speech sound

b

: the quality of tone distinctive of a particular singing voice or musical instrument

timbral

ˈtam-brəl  ˈtim- 

adjective

Did you know?

Timber and Timbre

Timber and timbre are two similar-looking words that appear in very different contexts. At least most of the time.

Timber traces back to an Old English word initially meaning “house” or “building” that also came to mean “building material,” “wood,” and “trees” or “woods.” Timbers are large squared lengths of wood used for building a house or a boat. In British English, timber is also used as a synonym for lumber.

Metaphorical senses followed after centuries of the word’s use: the word used for building material became a word meaning “material” or “stuff” in general (“it’s best-seller timber”) and came also to refer to the qualities of character, experience, or intellect (“managerial timber”).

And, of course, there’s also the interjectional use of “timber!” as a cry to warn of a falling tree; the fact that most people know this despite few of them ever having deployed the word in such a situation is almost certainly due to cartoons.

Timbre is French in origin, which is apparent in its pronunciation: it is often pronounced \TAM-ber\ and, with a more French-influenced second syllable, \TAM-bruh\. The French ancestor of timbre was borrowed at three different times into English, each time with a different meaning, each time reflecting the evolution that the word had made in French.

The first two meanings timbre had in English (it referred to a kind of drum and to the crest on a coat of arms) are now too obscure for entry in this dictionary, but its third meaning survives. Timbre in modern English generally refers to the quality of a sound made by a particular voice or musical instrument; timbre is useful in being distinct from pitch, intensity, and loudness as a descriptor of sound.

But because English is rarely simple about such things, we have also these facts: timber is listed as a variant spelling of timbre. And timbre may also be correctly pronounced just like timber as \TIM-ber\. And the spelling of timber was unsettled for many years; it was sometimes spelled tymmer, tymber, and, yes, timbre. The messy overlapping of these similar words is coincidental: the consequence of the intersection of the different cultures and languages that left their traces on English.

Examples of timbre in a Sentence

the timbre of his voice

Recent Examples on the Web

Her childlike timbre makes the song all the more touching. —Juan Velasquez, Them, 23 Sep. 2024

What’s clear is that Alejandro has the ache in his voice that’s reminiscent of forlorn romantics like Pepe Aguilar and the timbre of Miguel. —Nathan Solis, Los Angeles Times, 3 Oct. 2024

When Medrano’s deep voice comes in on the second verse, his deep timbre cuts through the music, merging perfectly with the funky drum beat and guitar riffs. —Jessica Roiz, Billboard, 20 Sep. 2024

His timbre is as much a betrayal as his taste for the carnal press of white and caramel skin. —Lauren Michele Jackson, The New Yorker, 13 Sep. 2024

Word History

Etymology

French, from Middle French, bell struck by a hammer, from Old French, drum, from Middle Greek tymbanon kettledrum, from Greek tympanon — more at tympanum

First Known Use

1845, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

timbre

noun

tim·​bre ˈtam-bər  ˈtim- 

: the quality of a sound or musical tone determined by its overtones and different for each voice or instrument

Medical Definition

timbre

noun

tim·​bre

variants also timber

ˈtam-bər  ˈtim-; ˈtam(brᵊ) 

: the quality given to a sound by its overtones: as

a

: the resonance by which the ear recognizes and identifies a voiced speech sound

b

: the quality of tone distinctive of a particular singing voice or musical instrument

timbral

ˈtam-brəl  ˈtim- 

adjective