- tym|pan
- tym|pan «TIHM puhn», noun.1. a stretched membrane, or a sheet or plate of some thin material, in an apparatus.2. an appliance in a printing press, often consisting of a thickness of paper, cloth, cardboard, or the like, placed between the platen or impression cylinder and the paper to be printed, so as to soften and equalize the pressure.3. Architecture. tympanum.4. Music, Archaic. a kettledrum.
Useful english dictionary. 2012.