tympanum

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   the eardrum or tympanic membrane, and historically the middle-ear cavity behind it

   Pressure on either side of the tympanum must remain balanced for normal hearing.

2. 2
   noun

   a thin sound-receiving membrane in certain insects and other animals

   The moth detects ultrasonic calls through a tympanum on its body.

3. 3
   noun

   the triangular area within a classical pediment, or the recessed area above a doorway bounded by an arch

   The carved tympanum above the cathedral door depicts the Last Judgment.

4. 4
   noun

   a drum or drumlike resonating structure

   The instrument's stretched skin formed a shallow tympanum.

Borrowed from Latin tympanum ("drum, tambourine, eardrum"), from Greek tympanon. Anatomical and zoological senses compare a taut sound-sensitive membrane to a drumhead; architecture applied the same word to the framed surface within a pediment or arch.

Topics