tamboo

tamboo

English

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /tamˈbuː/

Etymology 1

From Persian, Hindi.

Noun

tamboo (plural tamboos)

1. (military slang, now historical) A temporary shelter used by soldiers during the First World War.
   • 1995, Pat Barker, The Ghost Road, Penguin 2014 (The Regeneration Trilogy), p. 804:

     We live in tamboos – a sort of cross between a cowshed and an outdoor privy.

   • 1918, Wilfred Owen, Letter to his mother, Susan Owen (31st October, 1918)

     My servant & I ate the chocolate in the cold middle of last night, crouched under a draughty Tamboo, roofed with planks.

Adjective

tamboo (not comparable)

1. Alternative form of taboo (“culturally forbidden”)