tympan

American  

[tim-puhn] / ˈtɪm pən /

noun

1. Printing. a padlike device interposed between the platen or its equivalent and the sheet to be printed, in order to soften and equalize the pressure.

2. tympanum.

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tympan British  

/ ˈtɪmpən /

noun

1. a membrane stretched over a frame or resonating cylinder, bowl, etc

2. printing packing interposed on a hand-operated text between the platen and the paper to be printed in order to provide an even impression

3. architect another name for tympanum

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Etymology

Origin of tympan

before 900; Middle English: drum, Old English < Latin tympanum tympanum

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

tympan

The interest of the exterior is centred upon the bas-relief representing the Last Judgment, which fills the entire tympan of the arch covering the two main doorways.

From Wanderings by southern waters, eastern Aquitaine by Edward Harrison Barker

After the impression had been taken, the platen was screwed up, the bed "run out," the tympan frame and frisket lifted, and the printed sheet taken off.

From The Building of a Book A Series of Practical Articles Written by Experts in the Various Departments of Book Making and Distributing by Frederick H. Hitchcock

Attached to the upper end of the inner frame by hinges was a thin and narrow frame, called the "frisket," of the same length and width as the inner tympan frame.

From The Building of a Book A Series of Practical Articles Written by Experts in the Various Departments of Book Making and Distributing by Frederick H. Hitchcock

It consisted of a table, along which the forme of type, furnished with a tympan and frisket, was pushed by hand.

From Men of Invention and Industry by Samuel Smiles

This façade is of the fifteenth century and on the tympan of the dormer windows one may still see the monogram of its builder, Cottereau.

From Royal Palaces and Parks of France by Blanche McManus

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