vibraphone (n.)

1861 (adv.), 1870 (n.), "tremulous effect in music," from Italian vibrato, from Latin vibratus, past participle of vibrare "to vibrate" (from PIE root *weip- "to turn, vacillate, tremble ecstatically").

Strictly, the vibrato is distinct from the tremolo, in that the latter involves a perceptible variation in pitch; but in common usage the terms are made synonymous. [Century Dictionary]

word-forming element meaning "voice, sound," also "speaker of," from Greek phōnē "voice, sound" of a human or animal, also "tone, voice, pronunciation, speech," from PIE root *bha- (2) "to speak, say, tell" (source also of Latin for, fari "to speak," fama "talk, report").

1940, short for vibraphone; attested from 1967 as an abbreviated form of vibration in the 1960s slang sense of "instinctive feeling." Related: Vibes.