English Explanatory Dictionary

tom-tom

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. A small drum, often one of a joined pair, beaten with the hands, frequently associated with tribal cultures.
  2. Any cylindrical drum, with no snare; part of a drum kit.
  3. Alternative form of tam-tam (“a kind of flat gong”).
verb
  1. To play the tom-toms.

Word forms

tom-tom tom-toms tom-tomming tom-tommed

Etymology

From Hindi टमटम (ṭamṭam, “the sound of a drum”), and similar terms in related or nearby languages (as Punjabi ਟਮ ਟਮ (ṭam ṭam), Gujarati ટમટમ (ṭamṭam), Bengali টমটম (ṭomṭom), Sinhalese ටම් ටම් (ṭam ṭam), Tamil தம் தம் (tam tam), Malayalam തം തം (taṁ taṁ), Tibetan ཐོམ ཐོམ (thom thom)); ultimately of onomatopoeic origin, with reduplication. Early evidence is from Anglo-Indian sources.

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