TAMBOUR

I. noun Etymology: Middle French, drum, from Arabic ṭanbūr, modification of Persian tabīr Date: 15th century drum I,1, 2. an embroidery frame, embroidery made on a ~ frame, a shallow metallic cup or drum with a thin elastic membrane supporting a writing lever used to transmit and register slight motions (as arterial pulsations), a rolling top or front (as of a rolltop desk) of narrow strips of wood glued on canvas, II. verb Date: 1774 transitive verb to embroider (cloth) with ~, intransitive verb to work at a ~ frame, ~er noun