The word 'trommel' is a direct borrowing from German, where 'Trommel' means "drum." This term entered English in the mid-19th century within the specialized context of mining and mineral processing. The semantic link is vividly metaphorical: the cylindrical, rotating sieve resembles the shape and, in some cases, the hollow, resonant sound of a drum when in operation. This illustrates a common pattern in technical vocabulary where an everyday object provides a descriptive name for industrial machinery.

The word is a simplex loanword from German. It does not contain separable morphemes within its current English spelling.