From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Tympanum \Tym"pa*num\, n.; pl. E. {Tympanums}, L. {Tympana}.
[L., a kettledrum, a drum or wheel in machines, the
triangular area in a pediment, the panel of a door, Gr.
ty`mpanon, ty`panon, fr. ? to strike, beat. See {Type}, and
cf. {Timbrel}.]
1. (Anat.)
(a) The ear drum, or middle ear. Sometimes applied
incorrectly to the tympanic membrane. See {Ear}.
(b) A chamber in the anterior part of the syrinx of birds.
[1913 Webster]
2. (Zool.) One of the naked, inflatable air sacs on the neck
of the prairie chicken and other species of grouse.
[1913 Webster]
3. (Arch.)
(a) The recessed face of a pediment within the frame made
by the upper and lower cornices, being usually a
triangular space or table.
(b) The space within an arch, and above a lintel or a
subordinate arch, spanning the opening below the arch.
[1913 Webster]
4. (Mech.) A drum-shaped wheel with spirally curved
partitions by which water is raised to the axis when the
wheel revolves with the lower part of the circumference
submerged, -- used for raising water, as for irrigation.
[1913 Webster]
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
tympanum
n 1: the main cavity of the ear; between the eardrum and the
inner ear [syn: {middle ear}, {tympanic cavity},
{tympanum}]
2: the membrane in the ear that vibrates to sound [syn:
{eardrum}, {tympanum}, {tympanic membrane}, {myringa}]
3: a large hemispherical brass or copper percussion instrument
with a drumhead that can be tuned by adjusting the tension on
it [syn: {kettle}, {kettledrum}, {tympanum}, {tympani},
{timpani}]
From Latin-English FreeDict Dictionary ver. 0.1.1 [fd-lat-eng]:
tympanum
tambourine; timbrel
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