# drum
## English
### Pronunciation

* IPA: /dɹʌm/, [dʒɹʷɐm]
* Audio (US):(file)
* Audio (General Australian):(file)
* Rhymes: -ʌm

### Etymology 1

Perhaps back-formation from drumslade (“drummer”), from Middle Dutch trommelslach (“drumbeat”), from trommel (“drum”) + slach (“beat”) (Dutch slag).
Or perhaps borrowed directly from a continental Germanic language; compare Middle Dutch tromme (“drum”), Middle Low German trumme (“drum”) et al. Compare also Middle High German trumme, trumbe (“drum”), Old High German trumba (“trumpet”).

#### Noun

drum (plural drums)
* (music) A percussive musical instrument spanned with a thin covering on at least one end for striking, forming an acoustic chamber; a membranophone.
    Synonym: (slang) skins
    Hypernym: percussion instrument
    He's playing the piano and she's playing the drums!
** 1669, John Nievhoff, “Of ſome THINGS more then NATURAL, and ſtrange POOLS.”, in John Ogilby, transl., An Embassy from the Eaſt-India Company of the United Provinces, to the Grand Tartar Cham Emperour of China‎, London: John Macock, →OCLC, page 273:In the Province of Xenſi, near the City Vucung, is a Hill called Taipe, which if a Drum be beaten upon it, preſently followeth Thunder, Lightning, and ſtormy weather, inſomuch that the Magiſtrates have forbidden all perſons upon pain of death to beat any Drum there.
** 2008 January 15, Jon Pareles, “To See (and Hear) the World in Five Hours: Unique Sounds Ripe for Import”, in The New York Times‎:The group played huge drums placed overhead, along with flutes and a kotolike zither.
* Any similar hollow, cylindrical object.
    Replace the drum unit of your printer.
* A barrel or large cylindrical container for liquid transport and storage.
    The restaurant ordered ketchup in 50-gallon drums.
* (US) Synonym of construction barrel
* (architecture) The encircling wall that supports a dome or cupola.
* (architecture) Any of the cylindrical blocks that make up the shaft of a pillar.
* A drumfish (family Sciaenidae).
* (Australia slang) A tip; a piece of information.
** 1985, Peter Carey, Illywhacker, Faber and Faber, published 2003, page 258:‘he is the darndest little speaker we got, so better sit there and listen to him while he gives you the drum and if you clean out your earholes you might get a bit of sense into your heads.’
* (boxing, slang, obsolete) The ear.

##### Usage notes

* When used in the plural, "drums" or "the drums" often specifically means a drum kit as used for contemporary styles such as rock or jazz; a classical percussionist would be very unlikely to say that they "play the drums" on a piece, even if the only parts they play are, indeed, drums (as opposed to marimba, xylophone, or similar.)

##### Derived terms

* bang on the drum
* bang the drum
* bang the drum for
* barrel drum
* bass drum
* beat like a jungle drum
* beat the drum
* beat the drum for
* bedrum
* big drum
* black drum
* bongo drum
* brake drum
* cable drum
* chalice drum
* cocktail drum
* concert bass drum
* conga drum
* conical drum
* double-conical drum
* double conical drum
* dram major
* drum and bass
* drumbeat
* drumbeater
* drumbeating
* drum belly
* drum brake
* drum cadence
* drum-dried
* drumette
* drum fill
* drumfire
* drumfish
* drumful
* drumfunk
* drum head
* drumhead
* drum-head court
* drum horse
* drum kit
* drumless
* drumlike
* drumline
* drum machine
* drum magazine
* drum major
* drum majorette
* drummie
* drummist
* drummy
* drum 'n' bass
* drumology
* drum roll
* drum set
* drumskin
* drumstep
* drumstick
* drum stick
* drum talk
* drum tower
* ear drum
* eardrum
* footed drum
* frame drum
* freshwater drum
* friction drum
* frog drum
* furling drum
* goblet drum
* hand drum
* horn drum
* hourglass drum
* kettledrum
* kettle drum
* kickdrum
* kick drum
* Lambeg drum
* long drum
* march to a different drum
* march to one's own drum
* march to the beat of a different drum
* march to the beat of one's own drum
* mud drum
* nanodrum
* ngoma drum
* oil drum
* on the drum
* pellet drum
* red drum
* redrum
* rollerdrum
* side drum
* skull drum
* slit drum
* snare drum
* steam drum
* steel drum
* storm drum
* talking drum
* tenor drum
* thunder-drum
* tight as a drum
* tom-tom drum
* tongue drum
* tubular drum
* waisted drum
* war drum
* water drum

##### See also

* percussion

#### Verb

drum (third-person singular simple present drums, present participle drumming, simple past and past participle drummed)
* (intransitive) To beat a drum.
* (ambitransitive) To beat with a rapid succession of strokes.
    The ruffed grouse drums with his wings.
** 1824, Geoffrey Crayon [pseudonym; Washington Irving], Tales of a Traveller, (please specify |part=1 to 4), Philadelphia, Pa.: H[enry] C[harles] Carey & I[saac] Lea, […], →OCLC:drumming with his fingers on the arm of his chair
* (transitive) To drill or review in an attempt to establish memorization.
    He’s still trying to drum Spanish verb conjugations into my head.
** 1978 December 9, Pat M. Kuras, “A Splice of Lesbian Life”, in Gay Community News, volume 6, number 20, page 11:Those long ago memories of gnawing sexuality clashing against drummed in prejudice.
* To throb, as the heart.
** 1690, [John] Dryden, Don Sebastian, King of Portugal: […], London: […] Jo. Hindmarsh, […], →OCLC, (please specify the page number):Now, heart, […] thou shalt drum no more.
* To go about, as a drummer does, to gather recruits, to draw or secure partisans, customers, etc.; used with for.
* Of various animals, to make a vocalisation or mechanical sound that resembles drumming.
** 1886, Peter Christen Asbjørnsen, translated by H.L. Brækstad, Folk and Fairy Tales, page 85:"There is the snipe drumming also. We shall have it fine!" he added, with an air of conviction.

##### Derived terms

* drum into
* drummer
* drumming
* drum out
* drum up

##### Translations
### Etymology 2

From Irish druim, Scottish Gaelic druim (“back, ridge”).

#### Noun

drum (plural drums)
* (now rare) A small hill or ridge of hills.

##### Usage notes

* Mainly encountered in place names, such as Drumglass and Drumsheugh.

### Etymology 3

Unknown.

#### Noun

drum (plural drums)
* (now historical) A social gathering or assembly held in the evening. [from 18th c.]
** 1749, Henry Fielding, The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, volume (please specify |volume=I to VI), London: A[ndrew] Millar, […], →OCLC: Folio Society 1973, page 631:
    Another misfortune which befel poor Sophia, was the company of Lord Fellamar, whom she met at the opera, and who attended her to the drum.
** 1751, [Tobias] Smollett, The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle […], volume (please specify |volume=I to IV), London: Harrison and Co., […], →OCLC:[H]e was engaged in a partie of cards, at a drum in the house of a certain lady of quality […] .
** 1898, Stanley John Weyman, chapter III, in The Castle Inn:'Ten o'clock, and you are lighted as for a drum!
* (slang, chiefly UK) A person's home; a house or other building, especially when insalubrious; a tavern, a brothel. [from 19th c.]

##### Derived terms

* drummer (housebreaker; travelling salesman)

### Etymology 4

Shortening.

#### Noun

drum (plural drums)
* (informal) A drumstick (of chicken, turkey, etc).
** 2006, Helene Andreu, Dance, movemet, and nutrition, AuthorHouse, →ISBN, page 138:Add, thinly sliced, 1/2 to 1 onion and 2 cloves of garlic also sliced, your choice of protein – chicken or turkey breast, or low fat beef, veal, lamb or pork, cut in pieces, or skinless chicken drums, and probably a little water. Then add 1/2 a cup of ...
** 2010, Nadejda Reilly, Ukrainian Cuisine with an American Touch and Ingredients, →ISBN, page 253:In a large frying pan, add some canola oil and half of the chicken drums and brown them on both sides. Repeat the procedure until all drums are browned. Place them in a medium baking pan. To the browned chicken drums, add sliced onion, ...
** 2010, Lisa Lamme, The Gypsy Kitchen: Transform Almost Nothing into Something Delicious with Not-So-Secret Ingredients, Simon and Schuster, →ISBN:3–5 pounds chicken drums and thighs, with skin Hot sauce to taste 1. In a gallon resealable plastic bag, add flour, pepper, and salt. Shake to mix. […]
** 2016, Melanie Mah, The Sweetest One, Cormorant Books, →ISBN:Up top, a pained expression, her eating face. My mom doesn't eat for taste, she does it to stay alive. Probably wouldn't eat if she didn't have to. I grab a new chopstick and when I get back there's a chicken drum on my plate. “Thanks, Ba,” I say.
** 2016, Astroglo DeCerveau, A Book of Good and Bad Things, Xlibris Corporation, →ISBN:To stir the whole, he used a chicken drum.
** 2017, Daniel Young, Stuart Barnes, Tincture Journal Issue Eighteen (Winter 2017), Tincture Journal, →ISBN:When noon came the next day, the two guards came in with a plate of […] chicken drums and pork braised in soy sauce, plus some vegetables.

### References

* “drum”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.

## Aromanian
### Alternative forms

* drumu

### Etymology

Borrowed from Greek δρόμος (drómos, “road, track”). Compare Romanian drum.

### Noun

drum n (plural drumuri)
* road

#### Synonyms

* cali, sucachi

#### See also

* cãrari

## Dutch
### Etymology

Borrowed from English drum.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /drʏm/
* Audio:(file)
* Hyphenation: drum
* Rhymes: -ʏm

### Noun

drum m (plural drums, diminutive drummetje n)
* (music) drum, usually one belonging to a drum kit

#### Synonyms

* trommel

#### Derived terms

* drumstel

## German
### Pronunciation

* Audio:(file)

### Adverb

drum
* Contraction of darum.

### Further reading

* “drum” in Duden online
* “drum” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache

## Italian
### Etymology

From the tobacco brand.

### Noun

drum m (invariable)
* roll-your-own cigarette

## Megleno-Romanian
### Etymology

Borrowed from Greek δρόμος (drómos).

### Noun

drum n (plural drumur)
* road

## Romanian
### Etymology

Borrowed from Greek δρόμος (drómos, “road, track”).

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈdrum/
* Audio:(file)
* Hyphenation: drum
* Audio:(file)

### Noun

drum n (plural drumuri)
* road

#### Related terms

* drumar
* drumeag
* drumeț
* drumeție
* drumui
* drumuleț
* drumușor
* îndruma

### See also

* stradă
* cale
* cărare
* șosea

### Further reading

Language in Danger Andrew Dalby, 2003
* drum in DEX online—Dicționare ale limbii române (Dictionaries of the Romanian language)

## Serbo-Croatian
### Etymology

Borrowed from Greek δρόμος (drómos, “road, track”).

### Noun

drȕm m (Cyrillic spelling дру̏м)
* road