tympanum

American  

[tim-puh-nuhm] / ˈtɪm pə nəm /

noun

• tympanums,
  plural
• tympana
  plural

1. Anatomy, Zoology.

   1. middle ear.

   2. tympanic membrane.

2. Architecture.

   1. the recessed, usually triangular space enclosed between the horizontal and sloping cornices of a pediment, often decorated with sculpture.

   2. a similar space between an arch and the horizontal head of a door or window below.

3. Electricity. the diaphragm of a telephone.

4. a drum or similar instrument.

5. the stretched membrane forming a drumhead.

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tympanum British  

/ ˈtɪmpənəm /

noun

1. 1. the cavity of the middle ear

   2. another name for tympanic membrane

2. any diaphragm resembling that in the middle ear in function

3. Also called: tympan. architect

   1. the recessed space bounded by the cornices of a pediment, esp one that is triangular in shape and ornamented

   2. the recessed space bounded by an arch and the lintel of a doorway or window below it

4. music a tympan or drum

5. a scoop wheel for raising water

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• tympana
  plural
• tympanums
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of tympanum

1610–20; < Latin < Greek týmpanon drum, akin to týptein to beat, strike

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Explanation

A tympanum is the ear cavity or eardrum of certain animals. You can also refer to your eardrum as a tympanum — or to be really fancy you can call it a tympanic membrane. It's more common to use tympanum to talk about an insect's or amphibian's ear rather than to use the word to refer to a human eardrum. In ancient Greece and Rome, a tympanum was a small, hand-held drum, similar to a tambourine. The Greek version of the word was tympanon, from the root typtein, "to beat or strike."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

tympanum tympana tympanums

The middle ear holds three small bones called the ossicles, which transfer energy from the moving tympanum to the inner ear.

From Textbooks ● Jun. 9, 2022

A fast-rising artist who had been commissioned at a young age to design the tympanum over the central doors of the National Cathedral, Hart was working in a long, historical tradition of realistic representation.

From Washington Post ● Dec. 1, 2017

“Mahna Mahna” is as catchy as a song can be, like a fishing hook stuck in your tympanum.

From Slate ● Nov. 23, 2011

Over the entrance door into one of the earlier funerary chambers, a Greco-Roman triangular tympanum illustrates the gradual penetration of Hellenistic motifs.

From New York Times ● Jul. 23, 2010

The bright banners hanging from the tympanum proclaimed the word.

From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides

The tympana of the two pediments and all the metopes were enriched with the finest sculpture, and were realized, designed, and executed by Pheidias and his pupils.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 2, Slice 4 "Aram, Eugene" to "Arcueil" by Various

The Crucifixion as a subject for representation on such tympana is said to be rare, the Last Judgment being the one usually selected.

From Somerset by G. W. Wade

The French military bands too are equally discordant; so fond are they of drums, that they seem to have converted the tympana of their ears into parchment.

From The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction Volume 12, No. 333, September 27, 1828 by Various

I am from hence induc't to be of opinion that these tympana were made according to such and such proportions, suitable to such and such notes.

From The Natural History of Wiltshire by John Aubrey

His figures fill The tympana o'er Santa Croce's gate; In the museum too, his Cain, that stands A left-handed discobolos....

From The Poetical Works of Robert Bridges by Robert Bridges

Last week he had the thrill of seeing his bellowing affect not just the ear of some baffled layman but the tympanums of that knowing politician, the Head of the Democratic Party.

From Time Magazine Archive

Old Boer Senators leaned forward, hand behind ear in order that not one word of the Prince's English should escape their Dutch-hardened tympanums.

From Time Magazine Archive

The masons put together the pieces of the rose window and installed the tympanums and voussoirs over the doors.

From "Cathedral: The Story of Its Construction" by David Macaulay

The waves of sound strike all tympanums alike; yet in these instances they are incapable of responding to certain waves.

From Studies in the Out-Lying Fields of Psychic Science by Hudson Tuttle

Crude mosaics in the tympanums above are a jarring colour note which one would willingly suppress.

From Cathedral Cities of Italy by William Wiehe Collins

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