tabor
LowArchaic or historical; occasionally used in poetic or musical contexts.
Definition
Meaning
A small drum, especially one used historically in combination with a pipe.
Can refer to a hill or place name in some contexts, but primarily denotes the musical instrument.
Linguistics
Semantic Notes
Associated with medieval and Renaissance music; typically played with one hand while the other plays a pipe.
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
No significant differences in meaning or usage.
Connotations
Similarly archaic in both varieties.
Frequency
Equally rare in British and American English.
Vocabulary
Collocations
Grammar
Valency Patterns
play the taboraccompany with taborVocabulary
Synonyms
Strong
Neutral
Weak
Vocabulary
Antonyms
Phrases
Idioms & Phrases
- “pipe and tabor”
Usage
Context Usage
Business
Not applicable
Academic
Used in historical or musicological texts
Everyday
Rarely used
Technical
In descriptions of early musical instruments
Examples
By Part of Speech
verb
British English
- The minstrel taboured along to the pipe melody.
American English
- He taborred during the historical reenactment.
Examples
By CEFR Level
- I saw a tabor in the museum.
- The musician played a pipe and tabor at the festival.
- In medieval times, the tabor was commonly used to accompany dances.
- The ethnomusicologist studied the evolution of the tabor from its origins to modern folk traditions.
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
Think of 'tab' on a drum skin being hit with labor.
Conceptual Metaphor
The tabor as the heartbeat of folk traditions.
Watch out
Common Pitfalls
Translation Traps (for Russian speakers)
- In Russian, 'табор' means 'camp' or 'encampment', but in English, 'tabor' is a type of drum.
Common Mistakes
- Misspelling as 'tabour' (a variant), or mispronouncing with a short 'a' as /ˈtæbər/.
Practice
Quiz
What is a tabor?
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
Rarely, mostly in historical reenactments or specific folk traditions.
A tabor is a small drum without jingles, typically played with a stick, while a tambourine has jingles and is often shaken or hit.
Yes, but it is very rare; it means to play a tabor.
In British English, it's pronounced /ˈteɪbə/, and in American English, /ˈteɪbər/.