TYMPANUM

noun (plural tympana; also -nums) Etymology: Medieval Latin & Latin; Medieval Latin, eardrum, from Latin, drum, architectural panel, from Greek tympanon drum, kettledrum; perhaps akin to Greek typtein to beat Date: 1619 1. a. tympanic membrane , middle ear , a thin tense membrane covering an organ of hearing of an insect, a membranous resonator in a sound-producing organ, 2. the recessed usually triangular face of a pediment within the frame made by the upper and lower cornices, the space within an arch and above a lintel or a subordinate arch