tambour 
tambour (tiiin'bor or -bor), n. [< K. tambour, 
a drum: see //<;'.] 1." A drum: specifically, 
the bass drum: also, .something resembling a 
drum, as an elastic membrane stretched over a 
cup-shaped vessel, used in various mechanical 
devices. 
After supper, the whole village [of Johar) cimic ami >ot 
ronnil the c-ar]>et, and one of them played on a tambour, 
:tll'l SUNK II I'Ul-ileen HOllg. 
;-,.-<, DI-HI-I ijithin of the East, II. I. 156. 
When I sound 
The tambour of <!od, ten cities hear 
Its voice, and answer to the call in arms. 
Snuthey. (Imp. Diet.) 
2. In arch.: (a) A cylindrical stone, such as 
one of the blocks of which each constitutes a 
course of the shaft of a column; a drum. (6) 
The interior part, or core, within the leaves, of 
Corinthian and Composite capitals, which bears 
scniie resemblance to a drum. It is also called 
the vane, and the rttmpana or bell, (c) The 
wall of a circular temple surrounded with col- 
umns, (rf) The circular vertical part of a cu- 
pola; also, the basis of a cupola when this is 
circular. (<) A kind of lobby or vestibule of 
timber-work with folding doors, and covered 
with a ceiling, as within t heporches of churches, 
etc., to break the current of air or draft from 
without. 3. A circular frame on which silk 
or other stuff is stretched for the purpose of 
being embroidered : so called from its resem- 
blance to a drum. Machines have been con- 
structed for tambour-working, and are still used. 
Recollect, Lady Teazle, when I saw you first sitting at 
tambour, in a pretty figured linen gown, with a bunch 
Spanish Tambourine. 
2. A long narrow drum or tabor used in Prp- 
vence; also, a bottle-shaped drum used in 
Egypt. 3. A Provencal dance originally exe- 
cuted to the sound of tabor and pipe, with or 
without singing. 4. Music for such a dance, 
j n duple rhythm and quick tempo, and usually 
accompanied by a drone bass of a single tone, 
ft8 the tonic or the dominant, as if played by 
rubbing the finger across a tambourine. 6. 
A remarkable pigeon of Africa, Tympanigtria 
bieolor. See cut under Tympanigtria. P. I.. 
tame 
2. Submissive; spiritless; pusillanimous. 
I have fiii-mlh mill kiiiHiiicn 
That will not MI c U ' a in in.' with tiudlstne* 
That s olfi'i'd I ir nnlilc family 
In what I suiter. tletchrr, spin dun Curate, Iv. 1. 
Why are you so tame! why do not you ..peak to him 
and tell hini how he disquiet* your house? 
/(. .Imumn, Every Man In hi Humour, II. I. 
This country | England] was never renwi kalde. for ii 
tame submission to injuries 
U. W. Hixm, Hist, rhnrch of E,,K., ii. 
3. Sluggish; languid; dull; lacking earnest- 
ness, fervor, or ardor. 
The historian himself, tamt and creeping as he is In his 
ordinary style, warms In sympathy with the Kmperor. 
De ifniiin:/. I'hilon. of Itom. Hist 
The age is dull and mean. .Men creep. 
Not walk, with blood too pale and tame 
To pay the debt they owe to shame. 
Whittirr, To Friends under Arrest for Treason against 
(Slave Power. 
We are too tame for either aspirations or regrets, or, If 
we have them we know as a matter of course that they 
cannot be Indulged. J. K. Seeley, Nat Religion, p. 127. 
4. Deficient in interesting or striking qualities; 
uninspiring; insipid; flat: as, a tame descrip- 
tion. 
Rome thought the architectural style of Athens too 
tame. A. U. Welth, Rhetoric, ill. 
The western half of Victoria is level or slightly undulat- 
ing, and as a rule tame In its scenery, exhibiting only I 
_ ,. _ ilythlnly 
ands, with all the appearance of open 
Bncyc. ft*., XXIV. 21... 
of keys at your side. Sheridan, School for Scandal, U. 1. 
4. Silk or other stuff embroidered on a tarn- tambour-lace (tam'bOr-las), . See lace. 
bour. tambour-needle (tam'bdr-ne'dl), n. The tool 
With ... a tambour waistcoat, white linen breeches, used in tambour-work: it is a small hook of 
and a taper switch In your hand, your figure, Frankly, gteel resembling a crochet-hook, and usually 
must be Irresistible. CoJmon, Man and Wife, i. (Daviet.) fltted jn ft nan( ji e o f j VO ry or hard wood. 
5. In fort., a defensive work formed of pali- tambour-stitch (tam'bor-stich), n. In crochet, 
timbered grassy 
parks. 
5. Ineffectual; impotent; inert. 
His remedies are tamt I' the present peace. 
5Ao*.,Cor., Iv. 6. 2. 
6. Accommodated to one's habits; wonted; 
accustomed. [Rare.] 
Sequestering from me all 
That time, acquaintance, custom, and condition 
Made taint and most familiar to my nature. 
Shale., T. and C., III. 3. 10. 
Tame hay. See lay > . = Syn. 2. Mad, Soft, etc. (see yen- 
lie); docile. 4. Feeble, vapid, prosy, prosaic. 
sades, intended to defend a road, gate, or other a kind of stitch by which a pattern of straight tame 1 (tain), . /. ; pret. and pp. tamed, ppr. tam- 
entrance __ Tambour de Basque, a tambourine. ridges crossing each other at right angles is ing. [< ME. tamen, tamien, also temen, temeen, < 
lambour (tam'bor or -bor), D. [< tambour, n. : produced. Also tamburet-stitch. AS. tamian, grow tame, temian, make tame, = 
.. ., produced. 
see tambour, n., 3.] I. trans. To decorate with tambour-stitcher (tam'bor-stich'er), 
H. A D. temmen = MLG. temen, temmen, IX*. temmni 
needlework, as a piece of silk, muslin, or other worker in embroidery done on the tambour- = OHG. zamjan, ;emman, MHG. semen, G. :ah- 
stuff which has previously been strained on a frame. See tambour-Kork. Art Journal, 1883, men = Icel. temja = Sw. tamja = Dan. teium 
tambour-frame to receive embroidery. p. 150. = Goth, gatamjan, tame; from the adj.; con- 
She lay awake ten minutes on Wednesday night debat- tambOUT-WOrk (tam'bor-werk), n. Embroidery 
ing between her spotted and her tamboured muslin. on gtuff which is strained on a tambour-frame ; 
= Gr. tafia* = 
From the Li. domare 
nected with L. domare 
. T/ dam, tame, control. 
Jane Autten, Northanger Abbey, x. eg p ec i a n y) 8uc li embroidery when done upon are ult. E. domitable, daunt, etc., and (through 
II. intrant. To do tambour-work; embroider mus ij n O r cambric, and in linen thread, either flotuinun, master) dominant, dominate, etc.] 1. 
- 
by means of a tambour-frame. [Colloq.] white or colored. Also called fasst. 
She sat herring-boning, tambourine/, or_ stitching. tambroet (tam-bref), n. [Australian.] The 
duck-mole or duck-billed platypus of Australia, 
Ornithorhynchus paradoxus. See cut under 
I in r/i n in. Ingoldsby Legends, II. 328. (Dames.) 
tamboura (tam'bij-rii), n. An Oriental musi- 
cal instrument of the lute class, closely resem- 
bling the guitar or mandolin. 
The Assyrians, and most likely the Babylonian Accadi- as tambour-stitch. 
ana, may have been furnished with the finger-board tarn- tamburint, tamburinet, 1. Old spellings of 
bimm as well as the dulcimer and harp. 
, No. 8244, p. 902. 
duckbill. 
tamburet-stitch (tam'b^-ret-stieh), n. 
Same 
tambour-cotton (tam'bor-kot'n), . Cotton ^"^^umr^iamoourl' tabor^' 
thread used in tambour-embroidery, usually on ^'^ " specifically, f be"bass drum. 
muslin. . tame 1 (tarn), a. [<ME. tame, tome, prop, a weak 
tambour-embroidery (tam'bor-em-broi'der-i), 
n. Same as tambour-work. 
tambour-frame (tam'bor-fram), 
, , " A light 
wooden frame used for straining and holding 
flat the material forming the ground in tam- 
bour-work. This frame was originally a double hoop ; 
on the smaller hoop the silk, muslin, or other stuff was 
drawn tightly, and the larger hoop was then adjusted 
over the smaller. The modern tambour-frame is square, 
and can he slightly enlarged by wedges at the corners, 
like the stretcher of a painter's canvas. 
Mrs. (Irani and her tambour frame were not without 
their use. Jane AutUn, Mansfield Park, vii. 
tambourgi (tam-b6r'ji), n. [Turk, 'tanburji, < 
Iniilii/r. a drum : see tambour, tabor."] A Turkish 
drummer. Hymn. 
tambourine (tam-bij-ren'), n. [Early mod. E. 
also tanibnrini; ttnnhiiriit : <F. tamftottrtw(=Pr. 
tamborin = It. tamburino), dim. of tamboiii : see 
tambour, tabor 1 ."] 1. A small drum formed of 
a ring or hoop of wood or sometimes of metal, 
over which is stretched a single head of parch- 
ment. The hoop carries several pairs of loose metal disks 
called jingle*. The instrument is played either by shak- 
ing, or by striking with the hand or arm, or by drawing 
the linger across the head (or each in alternation). It is 
of Oriental origin, and is very common in Spain, whence it 
is often called tambour dt Baxque. See cut in next column. 
I sawe Calliope wyth .Muses moe, 
Soone as thy oaten pype began to sound, 
Theyr yvory Luyts and Tamburim forgoe. 
>>/, shep. Cal., June. 
Shaking a tambourine set round with tinkling bells, and 
thumping it on its piirehiiient In :ul. 
llnirthiirnt. Marble Faun, x. 
or inflected form of "tarn, tout, < AS. tarn, torn = 
OFries. "tarn (in aidertam) = D. MLG. LG. tarn 
= OHG. MHG. zam, G. zahm = Icel. tamr = Sw. 
Dan. tarn = Goth, 'tarns, tame; cf. tame*, r.] 
1. Reclaimed from wildness, savagery, or bar- 
barism, (a) Of persons, civilized; made peaceable, do- 
cile, or polite in manners and habits. 
Esau wilde man Imntere, 
And Jacob tamt man tiliere. 
email and Kxodw (E. E. T. S.), 1. 148i 
A in in-' black belonging to us is great at all sorts of hunt- 
lug. I want to see if he can find us a flying doe for to-mor- 
row. U. Kingdey, Geoffry Hamlyn, zxvill. 
(6) Of beasts, birds, etc. : (1) Reclaimed from the feral con- 
dition or state of nature for the use or benefit of man ; 
not wild ; domesticated ; made tractable. (2) Having lost 
or not exhibiting the usual characteristics of a wild ani- 
mal, as ferocity, fear of man, and shyness : as, a tame wild 
cat; the wild dncks are quite tame this season; the bear 
seemed very tame. 
In the Mountalnes of Ziz there are Serpents so tame 
that at dinner time they will come like Dogs and Cats, and 
gather vp the cruins, not offering to hurt any. 
Pvrchat, Pilgrimage, p. 622. 
(c) Cultivated; Improved: noting land, vegetable pro- 
ducts, etc. [Now colloq.] 
Sugar Canes, not tame, 4. or 5. foot high. 
Quoted in Capt. John SmOh't Works, II. 274. 
To reclaim from a wild or savage state ; over- 
come the natural ferocity or shyness of; make 
gentle and tractable; domesticate; break in, 
as a wild beast or bird. 
Which [two lions] first he tam'd with wounds, then by the 
necks them drew. 
And 'gainst the hard ned earth their Jaws and shoulders 
burst. Drayton, Polyolblon, II. sen. 
In vain they foamed, in vain they stared, 
In vain their eyes with fury glared ; 
He tamed 'em to the lash, and bent 'em to the yoke. 
Addaon, tr. of Horace, Od. iii. :). 
2. To subdue; curb; reduce to submission. 
Tooke towres* towne[s], tamid Knlghtes, 
Felled the falsse folke, ferked hem hard. 
Alimumier of M acedoine (E. E. T. S.), 1. 84. 
And he so tamed the Scots that none of them durst 
build a ship or a boate with aboue three yron nailes In It 
HMuyt't Voyage*, p. 10. 
I will tuiin- 
That haughty courage, and make It stoop too. 
Fletcher (and another), False One, v. 4. 
That iiniini the wave to be his posting-horse. 
Lowell, Washers of the Shroud. 
Nay yet It chafes me that I could not bend 
One will ; nor tame and tutor with mine eye 
That dull cold-blooded Ciesar. 
Trnnym, Fair Women. 
3f. To destroy; kill. 
Thouj 30 drinke poisoun, it schal not sou lainr, 
Neither harme sou, ne noo greef feele. 
Hymns to I'irgin, etc. (E. E. T. S-X P. 55. 
4. To deprive of courage, spirit, ardor, or ani- 
mation. 
Boast that he had seen, when Conscience shook. 
Fear tame a monarch's brow, Remorse a warrior's look. 
Scott, Vision of Don Roderick, The Vision, st ft. 
5. To make subdued in color or luster; soften; 
relieve ; tone down. 
Some relics of the old oak wood, 
That darkly huge did Intervene. 
And tamed the glaring white with green. 
Scott, Marmion, Iv. 25. 
The careful pioneer Invariably had his corral on land 
near his house, where the land had become tame. For the 
land to In,, ,mi- l<nne it was only needed to denude It of tame 2 (tam), C. t. ; pret. and pp. tamed, ppr. 
timber and let in the sunlight to the surface of the corral. 
It was not necessary, probably, to plow and cultivate the 
ground, but this was sometimes done. 
Buck'* Handbot* of Med. Science*, V. 9. 
taming. [< ME. tamen, laymen, by apheresis 
from atamen, and partly from entamen: see at- 
tame? and enfrime 1 .] If. To open; broach. 
