TYMPANUMS

Noun

tympanums

plural of tympanum

Source: Wiktionary


TYMPANUM

Tym"pa*num, n.; pl. E. Tympanums, L. Tympana. Etym: [L., a kettledrum, a drum or wheel in machines, the triangular area in a pediment, the panel of a door, Gr. 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.

2. (Zoöl.)

Definition: One of the naked, inflatable air sacs on the neck of the prairie chicken and other species of grouse.

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.

4. (Mech.)

Definition: 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.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

24 October 2024

ELLIPSE

(noun) a closed plane curve resulting from the intersection of a circular cone and a plane cutting completely through it; “the sums of the distances from the foci to any point on an ellipse is constant”


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Coffee Trivia

There are four varieties of commercially viable coffee: Arabica, Liberica, Excelsa, and Robusta. Growers predominantly plant the Arabica species. Although less popular, Robusta tastes slightly more bitter and contains more caffeine.

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