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

Inflected Forms

noun

• tympana
  plural
• tympanums
  plural

Etymology

Origin of tympanum

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

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

Pistillo, Tintinnabulum, 2. intus Globulo ferreo, Crepitaculum, 3. circumversando; Crembalum, 4. ori admotum, Digito; Tympanum, 5.

From The Orbis Pictus by Hoole, Charles

Geranium, 8. habet Tympanum, cui inambulans quis extrahit pondera navi, aut demittit in navem.

From The Orbis Pictus by Hoole, Charles

Tympanum, Palace of Varied Industries, 33, 138; Education, 34, 138.

From The Jewel City by Macomber, Ben

Tympanum says that, by extracting the square-root of 3,630, we get 60 yards with a remainder of 30/60, or half-a-yard, which we add so as to make the oblong 60 × 60½.

From A Tangled Tale by Frost, A. B. (Arthur Burdett)

Tympanum group in the doorway - Ralph Stackpole Groups of men and women in the lunette of the ornate doorway on the south side.

From The Art of the Exposition by Neuhaus, Eugen