bomba

noun bom·ba \ ˈbōm-bə \

Definition of bomba

plural bombas

1 : a traditional Puerto Rican drum consisting of a barrel with a goatskin head

2 : a genre of Puerto Rican dance accompanied by drums and other percussion; also : a song sung by a soloist and chorus to accompany a bomba

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Origin and Etymology of bomba

borrowed from American Spanish (Puerto Rico), probably feminine derivative of Spanish bombo “drum,” derivative of the onomatopoeic base of earlier bomba “pump, bomb”

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1951

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year