Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- adjective Relating to or resembling a drum.
- adjective Anatomy Of or relating to the middle ear or eardrum.
from The Century Dictionary.
- Of, pertaining to, or resembling a tympan or tympanum; similar to or acting like a drumhead.
- In anatomy, of or pertaining to the tympanum: as, the tympanic cavity.
- noun A bone of the ear of man and mammals, supporting the tympanic membrane, generally annular or tubular, forming most of the meatus auditorius externus, or external auditory passage.
- noun Below mammals, in animals in which the true tympanic is rudimentary or wanting, the quadrate or pedicellate bone, the representative of the malleus; the suspensorium of the lower jaw, or especially its uppermost piece, the hyomandibular or epitympanic: so called by some who suppose it to be the tympanic bone, from the fact that it in part supports the tympanic membrane. See
quadrate , n., 3 , hyomandibular, epitympanic, and other compounds of tympanic there cited - noun In ornithology, sometimes, the tympano-occipital, considered as the true representative in birds of the tympanic of a mammal.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- adjective Like a tympanum or drum; acting like a drumhead.
- adjective (Anat.) Of or pertaining to the tympanum.
- adjective (Anat.) a bone of the skull which incloses a part of the tympanum and supports the tympanic membrane.
- adjective (Anat.) See the Note under
Ear . - noun (Anat.) The tympanic bone.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- adjective of, relating to, or resembling a
drum - adjective anatomy relating to the
eardrum ormiddle ear ;tympanal - adjective music
resonant
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- adjective associated with the eardrum
- adjective resembling a drum
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
Support
Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word tympanic.
Examples
-
On the other side of the tympanum is a small air-filled space called the tympanic cavity.
The Human Brain Asimov, Isaac 1963
-
It is called the tympanic antrum, and must be distinguished from the mastoid cells, though it communicates with them.
-
The aperture, surrounded by the folds of the external ear, leads by a canal towards a cavity called the tympanic cavity, which cavity is shut off from the exterior by the tympanic membrane (or drum of the ear), which stretches across the canal at a considerable distance from its external aperture.
The Common Frog 1874
-
And, as my Dad once pointed out to Pete, his drummer was "very tympanic."
Binky Philips: The Who Arrive Late, Beatles News Arrives Early, Central Park, August 1968 Binky Philips 2011
-
I wandered over in a disbelieving daze just in time to hear my Dad say, "... and your drummer, very tympanic ..." while Pete bemusedly nodded.
Binky Philips: Pete Townshend Meets My Mom and Dad at the Fillmore East Binky Philips 2010
-
Despite the efforts of Nissan's engineers to improve ride compliance, the over-the-road feel is tympanic, concussive, brutal, and tar strips zing your hands through the suede-wrapped steering wheel.
Nissan GT-R: A 'Halo Car' With Devil's Horns Dan Neil 2011
-
And, as my Dad once pointed out to Pete, his drummer was "very tympanic."
Binky Philips: The Who Arrive Late, Beatles News Arrives Early, Central Park, August 1968 Binky Philips 2011
-
Despite the efforts of Nissan's engineers to improve ride compliance, the over-the-road feel is tympanic, concussive, brutal, and tar strips zing your hands through the suede-wrapped steering wheel.
Nissan GT-R: A 'Halo Car' With Devil's Horns Dan Neil 2011
-
Quite aside from global travel and commerce, and from America's inevitable aid response to those suffering massive tympanic earthquakes, think about St. Louis 'small 5.2 Richter in April 2008, a tiny reminder of the 1811 St. Louis earthquake that would be devastating if it occurred today.
Early Warning Funding Plays Second Fiddle To Climate Change 2010
-
Quite aside from global travel and commerce, and from America's inevitable aid response to those suffering massive tympanic earthquakes, think about St. Louis 'small 5.2 Richter in April 2008, a tiny reminder of the 1811 St. Louis earthquake that would be devastating if it occurred today.
Catastrophes Play Second Fiddle To Climate Change Mark Mills 2010
Comments
Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.