English
Etymology
From Old French tumberel (in Anglo-Latin tumberellus), from tomber �to fall�.
Pronunciation
IPA|/'t�mbr�l/
Noun
en-noun
- a kind of mediaeval torture device, later associated with a cucking-stool
- a cart which opens at the back to release its load
#:*1997: This is a sixteenth-century work done by a Flemish master, Pieter Bruegel, and it is called The Triumph of Death (�). He studies the tumbrel filled with skulls. � Don DeLillo?, Underworld
- a cart used to carry condemned prisoners to their death, especially to the guillotine during the w:French Revolution|French Revolution
#:*1848: It is now ascertained that the tumbrel and the torches which figured in the massacre-scene of the 23d of February were prepared beforehand � The Times, 26 Jun 1848, p.4 col. B
Alternative forms
tumbril
io:tumbrel
ru:tumbrel
te:tumbrel
vi:tumbrel
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