tambour

n. 1. (Mus.) A kind of small flat drum; a tambourine. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A small frame, commonly circular, and somewhat resembling a tambourine, used for stretching, and firmly holding, a portion of cloth that is to be embroidered; also, the embroidery done upon such a frame; -- called also, in the latter sense, tambour work. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Arch.) Same as Drum, n., 2(d). [ 1913 Webster ]

4. (Fort.) A work usually in the form of a redan, to inclose a space before a door or staircase, or at the gorge of a larger work. It is arranged like a stockade. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. (Physiol.) A shallow metallic cup or drum, with a thin elastic membrane supporting a writing lever. Two or more of these are connected by an India rubber tube, and used to transmit and register the movements of the pulse or of any pulsating artery. [ 1913 Webster ]