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

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

The tympan of the duplicating machine is sometimes made uneven so that the impression of a typewriter is still further carried out.

From Business Correspondence by Anonymous

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

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 Edward Harrison Barker

The ornament is nearly confined to the tympan over the portal, the capitals of columns, and to the choir with its seven absidal chapels.

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

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