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tom·bac also tam·bac , or tam·bak

(tŏmbăk)

An alloy of copper with zinc and sometimes other metals, used in making inexpensive jewelry.

[French, ultimately from Malay tembaga, copper, ultimately from Prakrit *tambaka, from tamba, from Sanskrit tāmram, from tāmra-, coppery red, darkish red; akin to Old Irish teimel, darkness, and Lithuanian temti, to become dark.]

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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