TYMPANUM


Meaning of TYMPANUM in English

transcription, транскрипция: [ ˈtim-pə-nəm ]

noun

( plural tym·pa·na -nə ; 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.

(1) : tympanic membrane

(2) : middle ear

b. : a thin tense membrane covering an organ of hearing of an insect — see insect illustration

c. : a membranous resonator in a sound-producing organ

2.

a. : the recessed usually triangular face of a pediment within the frame made by the upper and lower cornices

b. : the space within an arch and above a lintel or a subordinate arch

[

1 tympanum 2a

]

Merriam-Webster's Collegiate English vocabulary.      Энциклопедический словарь английского языка Merriam Webster.