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

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

tympan

In the lower half of the tympan Satan is enthroned, his feet resting upon a writhing and hideously grimacing figure, supposed to be that of Judas.

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

Mechanisms are employed to move the "tympan sheet" or outside covering of the second cylinder along at fixed intervals, but they are complicated and troublesome.

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

An eighteenth-century doorway had been added to it, and the tympan of the pediment was quite filled up with hanging plants.

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

When the sheets of paper had been placed upon the tympan frame, the frisket was folded down upon it, and the two were then turned down over the form of type.

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

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 Barker, Edward Harrison