tabret

Etymology

Contraction of taboret.

Why this word is great

TABRET — [Noun] A small tabor or timbrel, or a person who plays such an instrument. From Middle English taberett, a contraction of taboret, derived from tabor (a type of drum) + the diminutive suffix -et. Unlike a "tambourine" (which jingles with metallic insistence) or a "tabor" (which marches in lockstep with a pipe), the tabret is a solitary murmur, a heartbeat without fanfare. It is the soft thump of a shepherd’s hand on stretched hide at dusk, the muffled rhythm of a lone dancer’s feet on packed earth, the pulse of a song so old it has forgotten its own words—a reminder that music begins not with spectacle, but with skin and air and time.

noun

  1. A small tabor; a timbrel.“The singing-girls beat their tabrets and lulliloo'd with joy[.]”
  2. A person who plays the tabor.