tom-tom
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tom-tom
Where it comes from
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.
noun tom-toms
- A small drum, often one of a joined pair, beaten with the hands, frequently associated with tribal cultures. [T]he Rattle Rale had got information that a party was coming from Badula to look for Hadje, three days before, and had assembled the Country by beat of tom tom, and that those who had conducted Hadje to the stranger had that morning returned: he spoke of the stranger as a 'Deyo' (a God).
- Any cylindrical drum, with no snare; part of a drum kit.
- Alternative form of tam-tam (“a kind of flat gong”).
verb tom-toms · tom-tomming · tom-tommed
- To play the tom-toms.
Talk about this word "tom-tom." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/tom-tom. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. tom-tom. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/tom-tom "tom-tom." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/tom-tom.Cite this
@misc{tom_tom_2026,
title = {tom-tom},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/tom-tom},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
