cymbalum

cymbălum, i, n. (gen. plur. cymbalum, Cat. 63, 21), = κύμβαλον, a cymbal.

• I Prop., an instrument consisting of two hollow plates of brass, which emit a ringing sound when struck together. They were used in the festivals of Cybele and Bacchus, and on other festive occasions; also to hinder the flight of bees, etc. (usu. in plur.), Lucr. 2, 619; Cat. 63, 21; 63, 29; Ov. F. 4, 213; Verg. G. 4, 64; Liv. 39, 8; Cic. Pis. 9, 20 sq.; Plin. 5, 1, 1, § 7; Quint. 11, 3, 59; Plin. Ep. 2, 14, 13.—
• • B Transf., in hydraulics, a sounding basin of similar form, a bell, Vitr. 10, 8, 5.—
• II Trop.: Apion Grammaticus, hic quem Tiberius Caesar cymbalum mundi vocabat, i. e. as making the world ring with his ostentatious disputations, Plin. H. N. praef. § 25; cf. Verg. Cat. 7, 5 Wagn.; App. Orth. § 8 p. 129 Mai.

cymbalum, ī, n. (κύμβαλον), die Zimbel, das Schallbecken, I) als musikal. Instrument (gew. im Plur., weil immer je zwei aneinander geschlagen wurden), verwendet bei Lustgelagen, bes. bei den Festen der Cybele u. bei den Bacchanalien, collegae tui cymbala ac crotala, Cic.: cymbalorum et tympanorum pulsus, Liv.: tympanorum et cymbalorum strepitus, Liv.: quatiens cymbala, Lampr.: tympana et cymbala sonant, Sen.: cymbala et tympana crepant, Mela: cymbala Thebano concrepuere deo, Prop.: quem saltare nudum ante concubinas suas iussit quatientem cymbala, Lampr.: Matris (Cybeles) quate cymbala circum, um die Flucht der Bienen zu verhindern, Verg.: tundet ad Idaeos cymbala rauca choros, Prop.: cymbala pulsans amicus, Iuven. – sarkastisch übtr., (Apion) cymbalum mundi, d.i. der alle Welt mit seinen gelehrten Erörterungen erfüllt, Plin. nat. hist. praef. § 25. – II) in der Hydraulik, das Schallbecken, die Glocke, Vitr. 10, 8 (13), 5. – ➳ Synk. Genet. Plur. cymbalûm, Catull. 63, 21. – griech. Form cymbalon, Verg. cat. 7, 5.

cymbalum [CL < κύμβαλον] 1 (pl.) cymbals. ~a ‥, quae se invicem tangunt ut resonent, aptissime opera caritatis exprimunt Bede Ezra (1 Ezra iii 10) 838; sicut David psalterium sumens, citharam percutiens, cimbala tangens [cf. II Reg. vi 5] Osb. V. Dunst. 8; petulanti cymbala tactu Hanv. IX 417 p. 390; cymbala preclara, concors symphonia, dulcis / fistula Vinsauf PN 662; cimbala clara sonant H. Avr. Poems 27. 166; lira cum cimbalis sonora resultat J. Howd. Cant. 466. 2 ‘cymbal’, ‘chime’, gong: a (mon.; v. et. 3 cymba); b (var. and dub.). a cantata nona, exeat prior ad percutiendum cimbalum Lanfr. Const. 88 (cf. ib. 110: ad cimbalum et super tabulam abbatis ponantur tabulae cum malleolis); sciendum est sex esse instrumentorum genera quibus pulsatur: tintinnabulum, ~um, nola, nolula, campana et signum. tintinnabulum pulsatur in triclinio et in refectorio, ~um in choro ‥ Beleth RDO 86. 90B; a1195 si aliquis eorum [minutorum] quoad ~um percussum fuerit in refectorio remanserit, locutorium cum ceteris non ingrediatur (Stat. Abbatis) G. S. Alb. I 209; sacrista ~um in claustro et skillas ad mensam in refectorio inveniet Cust. Westm. 49 (cf. ib. 105: de modo sonandi ~um ante prandium vel cenam); prelatus ~um percutere non debet nec eciam sonitum facere in dormitorio ad excitandum fratres; in hiis enim, sive presens fuerit prelatus sive absens, subprior ei subservit Obs. Barnwell 46; 1396 pannus pro cimbalo tegendo (Invent.) Meaux III lxxxi; 1398 in reparacione simbali Ac. Durh. 393.  b 10‥ ~um, cimbal WW; cogitavit ‥ quod cimbalum suum in Britonum regione oblitus fuisset, et necesse illi fuit ut illud hora legitima percuteret (Aidus) NLA I 20; cimbalum eneum ‥ deferebat; et ecce sine humano motu cimbalum clare sonare cepit (Iltutus) Ib. II 54; 1091 nulli licuit inimicum querendo ‥ cornu sonare neque cembellum mittere, post quod insidie remanerent Consuet. Norm. 507; apud Anglos ‥ pisces ipsi dulci ~i sonitu super aquam natantis in retia ire coguntur Adel. ED 26; horologium ‥ in quo xij horarum cursus ad clepsydram vertebantur cum totidem eriis pullulis, que ad completionem horarum decidebant et casu suo subjectum sibi ~um tinnire faciebant R. Niger Chr. II 150 (cf. (v. clepsydra a)); 1220 ornamenta [in capella]: ‥ duo ~a bona (Invent.) Reg. S. Osm. I 283; 1268 furaverunt baterellos cimbalarum ecclesie ‥ et scindebant cordas cimbalarum ‥ ne aliquis veniret ad extinguendum ignem Rec. Norw. I 207; 14‥ cimbale, a cymbale WW; a cymballe, simbalum CathA.

cymbălum, (12) ī, n. (κύμβαλον), cymbale [instrument de musique]; [surt. au pl.] : Cic. Pis. 20 ; Lucr. 2, 618 ; Virg. G. 4, 64 || [au fig.] cymbalum mundi Plin. præf. 25, [Apion] cymbale du monde, qui remplit le monde du bruit de son nom || cloche, timbre dʼune machine hydraulique : Vitr. Arch. 10, 13.

➳ cymbalum, gén. plur. : Catul. 63, 21.

cymbalum , i. n.
單面鼓。

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cymbalum ī, n

• (gen.plur.Cymbalūm, Ct.), κύμβαλον, a cymbal; two hollow plates of brass, which ring when struck together (used in festivals): cum domus cymbalis personaret, V., O., Ct., Iu.

CYMBALUM

CY´MBALUM(κύμβαλον), a musical instrument consisting of two half globes, which were held one in each hand by the performer and played by being struck against each other. Like κύμβη, κυμβίον, κύμβος, the word is derived from the root κυ-, expressive of anything hollow. Several kinds of cymbals are found on ancient monuments, and not a few are preserved in museums, as at Naples, Berlin, St. Petersburg, Athens, and several places in France. They closely resemble those now used in military bands (Guhl and Koner, ed. 5, p. 274). There are, however, different degrees of convexity, varying between a hemisphere and a nearly flat disc. Some are altogether without handles, and were grasped by the fingers on the outside; others have a hole through which a cord or strap was passed, convenient for slinging them when not in use as well as for holding them when played; others, again, have a ring (see the cut opposite), or a solid knob by way of handle; for a pair furnished with regular handles, see the illustration at the end.

Many names for different kinds of cymbals are recorded by the grammarians and lexicographers, but their descriptions are so vague that little can be done in the way of identification; and the important distinction between cymbals and castanets is often obscured. Thus κρέμβαλα and κρούματα (or κρούσματα) will be found treated under CROTALUMThe κρούπεζαι or κρουπέζια, Lat. scabella or scabilla, can hardly be called cymbals: they were wooden shoes, used to beat time with the foot while other instruments were being played, and perhaps had rattles or bells attached to them to make a jingling, like the TYMPANUMor tambourine (Cic. pro Cael. 27, § 65, with Long's note; cf. Liddell and Scott, s. v.). The πλαταγὴ was simply a child's rattle, as is clearly shown by a passage of Aristotle (Pol. 8.6.2); its diminutive is πλαταγώνιον (Pollux, Hesych., Suid.). There remain ὀξύβαφα and κοτύλαι, both probably small cup-shaped cymbals. The ὀξύβαφα were so named from their resemblance to the small cups used as vinegar cruets (see the second cut under ACETABULUM); and Suidas tells us (s. v.) that the two halves were made of different materials for the sake of variety of sound. The epithet χαλκόδετοι, applied to the κοτύλαι, seems to indicate that the latter also were not wholly of bronze (Aesch. fragm. 55).

The cymbal was a very ancient instrument, and unquestionably came from the East, where among other nations it was familiar to the Jews (see Dict. of Bible, s. v.). It is represented in a Phoenician bronze from Cyprus, now in the Cesnola collection at New York (D. and S. 1.1697 a). We find sacred trees depicted with cymbals hung on them as votive offerings, so as to be blown about by the wind (Guhl and Koner, p. 5, fig. 1). Among the Greeks and Romans they were especially used in orgiastic rites of Eastern origin, like those of Cybele (Pind. fragm. 48 = 79 Bergk4; Lucret. 2.618; Catull. 63.29; Verg. G. 4.64; Propert. 4.7, 61; Ov. Fast. 4.213) and Dionysus (Aesch. fragm. cit.; Liv. xxxix 8 fin., 10), as well as in the Eleusinian mysteries of Demeter and Cora (Pind. Isthm. 6.3; Clem. Alex. Protrept. 2.15, p. 14; Schol. Aristoph. Acharn. 708). It will be noticed how constantly, in these passages, the cymbal and the tympanum are coupled together. Art monuments tell the same tale as literature, both as to the joint use of the two instruments and the deities in whose worship they occur. A cymbal figured in Daremberg and Saglio (1.1697 b) is a votive offering to Cora.

As with the crotalum, the performers represented on works of art are mostly females. The following figure of a cymbalistria is taken from a bas-relief in the Vatican. [B.J] [W.W]

Cymbălum

(κύμβαλον). A musical instrument in the shape of two half globes, which were held one in each hand by the performer and played by being struck against each other. The word is originally Greek, being derived from κύμβος, “a hollow.” In Greek it has several other significations, as the cone of a helmet; it is also used for ἀρδανία, the vessel of purification placed at the door of a house where there had been a death. Besides this, it is often employed metaphorically for an empty, noisy person, as Tiberius called Apion the grammarian cymbalum mundi. In the mediaeval Latin it is used for a church or convent bell and sometimes for the dome of a church.

The cymbal was usually made in the form of two half globes, either running off towards a point, so as to be grasped by the whole hand, or with a handle. It was commonly of bronze, but sometimes of baser material, to which Aristophanes alludes. As with the crotalum, the performers were usually women and were known as cymbalistriae. See crotalum; sistrum.