tambour de basque

\tɑ̃.buʁ də bask\

/\tɑ̃.buʁ də bask\/ noun

The verdict

“tambour de basque” is uncommon French (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency French
17
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Petit tambour qui n’a qu’un fond de peau tendue sur un cercle de bois de quelques centimètres, autour duquel il y a des plaques de cuivre et des grelots, et dont on joue avec le bout des doigts ou ...

Key facts for tambour de basque
PropertyValue
Headwordtambour de basque
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\tɑ̃.buʁ də bask\
Letters17
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “tambour de basque” sits in French frequency

tambour de basque falls outside the top-100,000 ranked French words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

tambour de basque is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed \tɑ̃.buʁ də bask\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Petit tambour qui n’a qu’un fond de peau tendue sur un cercle de bois de quelques centimètres, autour duquel il y a des plaques de cuivre et des grelots, et dont on joue avec le bout des doigts ou ...".

tambour de basque has no tracked misspelling variants, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

This entry's etymology isn't recorded, so its spelling is best read as a straightforward mapping from sound to letter. The correct French form is tambour de basque, spelled T-A-M-B-O-U-R- -D-E- -B-A-S-Q-U-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Petit tambour qui n’a qu’un fond de peau tendue sur un cercle de bois de quelques centimètres, autour duquel il y a des plaques de cuivre et des grelots, et dont on joue avec le bout des doigts ou en l’agitant.

Synonyms

This word in other languages

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "tambour de basque"?
"tambour de basque" is spelled T-A-M-B-O-U-R- -D-E- -B-A-S-Q-U-E. The IPA pronunciation is \tɑ̃.buʁ də bask\.
What does "tambour de basque" mean?
As a noun, "tambour de basque" means: Petit tambour qui n’a qu’un fond de peau tendue sur un cercle de bois de quelques centimètres, autour duquel il y a des plaques de cuivre et des grelots, et dont on joue avec le bout des doigts ou ...
How do you pronounce "tambour de basque"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "tambour de basque" is \tɑ̃.buʁ də bask\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "tambour de basque" come from?
"tambour de basque" is a French word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “tambour de basque”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct French spelling is T-A-M-B-O-U-R- -D-E- -B-A-S-Q-U-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \tɑ̃.buʁ də bask\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Browse more French words and confusable pairs in the same reference. French words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list