喜樂美語
  1. 1

    The special quality of a sound that lets you tell one voice or instrument from another, even when they play exactly the same note at the same loudness. A violin and a flute can both play middle C, and you still know instantly which is which — that difference is timbre.

    The special quality of a sound一種聲音特有的性質，that lets you tell one voice or instrument from another讓你能分辨出一個聲音或樂器跟另一個不一樣，even when they play exactly the same note at the same loudness即使它們彈的是完全相同的音、一樣的音量。A violin and a flute can both play middle C小提琴和長笛都可以彈中央C，and you still know instantly which is which但你還是能立刻分辨出哪個是哪個——that difference is timbre那個差異就是timbre（音色）。

    So it is not pitch (high or low), and not volume (loud or soft); it is the colour of the sound, and people do often say 'tone colour' to mean the same thing. Used about singers, instruments, and speaking voices — 'the warm timbre of her voice'.

    So it is not pitch (high or low)所以它不是音高（高或低），and not volume (loud or soft)也不是音量（大聲或小聲）；it is the colour of the sound它是聲音的色彩，and people do often say 'tone colour' to mean the same thing大家也常說'tone colour'來指同一件事。Used about singers, instruments, and speaking voices用在歌手、樂器，還有說話的聲音上——'the warm timbre of her voice'像'the warm timbre of her voice（她聲音溫暖的音色）'這樣。

    It is a somewhat formal, educated word, at home in music lessons, reviews, and writing about sound; in everyday talk people just say 'her voice sounds warm' or 'he has a deep voice'. The pronunciation is the trap: English speakers say it roughly TAM-ber (like the first part of 'tamber'), and some say TIM-ber; it never sounds like the French original to English ears, though it did come from French.

    It is a somewhat formal, educated word這是個比較正式、書卷氣的字，at home in music lessons, reviews, and writing about sound常出現在音樂課、樂評，還有談聲音的文章裡；in everyday talk people just say 'her voice sounds warm' or 'he has a deep voice'平常說話大家就直接說'her voice sounds warm'或'he has a deep voice'。The pronunciation is the trap發音是個陷阱：English speakers say it roughly TAM-ber (like the first part of 'tamber')英語母語者大概念成TAM-ber（有點像'tamber'的前半段），and some say TIM-ber有些人念TIM-ber；it never sounds like the French original to English ears在英語人耳裡聽起來從來不像法文原本的發音，though it did come from French雖然這個字確實是從法文來的。

    例句逐字對照、搭配詞、易混淆字

    這一義的完整解析還沒打開。訂閱後可以看到例句怎麼拆、常跟哪些字一起出現， 以及容易跟它搞混的字。

    看看訂閱內容

組成From French timbre, and further back from Greek τύμπανον (tumpanon), a drum. The word travelled from meaning a drum, to the sound a struck thing makes, to the quality of any sound.

同家族的字

  • tympanumfrom the same Greek drum word; the eardrum, the small drum-skin inside your ear
  • timpanifrom the same Greek drum word; the big kettle drums at the back of an orchestra

原始詞典資料3 筆記錄

以下是外部詞典記錄的用法，原文照列，我們還沒有寫成教學內容。上面的說明才是我們自己寫的；有些用法可能上面已經講過了。

timbrenoun/ˈtæmbɹə/

  • 1

    The quality of a sound independent of its pitch and volume.

    • It was a hard whisper to catch at first, since the grey moustache concealed all movements of the lips, and something in its timbre disturbed me greatly; but by concentrating my attention I could soon make out its purport surprisingly well.
  • 2

    The pitch of a sound as heard by the ear, described relative to its absolute pitch.

    • When someone speaks after inhaling helium, his voice has a higher timbre. With sulfur hexafluoride, the result is a lower timbre.
  • 3

    governmentheraldryhobbiesThe crest on a (helmet atop a) coat of arms.

    • Quarterly the First quarter Siluer …, The second Siluer a Cheueron gules betweene three Castles Sables And to his timbre vpon his healme, an Elephants head in his proper Colours […]
    • The basilican pavilion [...] has frequently appeared on banners since the 13th century, but the pope has used it only rarely, as a timbre or crest above his coat of ARMS (a few examples exist from the time of MARTIN V).

資料來源：英文維基詞典 English Wiktionary（CC BY-SA 4.0）。 原文照列，未經改寫。