tambour

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
tambour /ˈtambʊə, -bɔː/

▶noun

• 1 historical a small drum.

• 2 a circular frame for holding fabric taut while it is being embroidered.

• 3 Architecture a wall of circular plan, such as one supporting a dome.

  ■ each of the cylindrical stones forming the shaft of a column.

• 4 a lobby enclosed by a ceiling and folding doors to prevent draughts.

  ■ a sliding flexible shutter or door.

• 5 a sloping buttress or projection in a real tennis or fives court.

▶verb (often as adj. tamboured) decorate or embroider on a tambour.

– origin C15: from Fr. tambour ‘drum’; perh. rel. to Pers. tabīra ‘drum’; cf. tabor.