Definition of "tympan"

(printing) A piece of cloth padding placed under the platen of a letterpress to distribute the pressure on the sheet being printed.  quotations  examples

(music) The stretched membrane of a drum.  examples

(music) A percussion instrument consisting of a hollow cylinder with such a membrane at each end.  examples

(architecture) A tympanum.  examples

The tympanum of the ear.  quotations  examples