Webster's English Dictionary

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tympanum

tym.pa.num \'tim-p*-n*m\ \-n*\ n or tym.pa.na also tympanums [ML & L; ML, 
   eardrum, fr. L, drum, architectural panel, fr. Gk tympanon d] pl rum, 
   kettledrum; akin to Gk typtein to beat 1a1: TYMPANIC MEMBRANE  1a2: the 
   middle ear  1b: a thin tense membrane covering an organ of hearing of an 
   insect  1c: a membranous resonator in a sound-producing organ  2a: the 
   recessed usu. triangular face of a pediment within the frame made b y the 
   upper and lower cornices 2b: the space within an arch and above a lintel or 
   a subordinate arch  3: TYMPAN  4: the diaphragm of a telephone