Webster's English Dictionary

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timbre

tim.bre \'tam-b*r, 'tim-\ n [F, fr. MF, bell struck by a hammer, fr. OF, 
   drum, fr. MGk tymbanon kettl]edrum, fr. Gk tympanon - more at TYMPANUM : 
   the quality given to a sound by its overtones : as  : the resonance by 
   which the ear recognizes and identifies a voiced speec h sound : the tone 
   distinctive of a singing voice or a musical instrument