TYMPANI

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does tympani mean? 

• TYMPANI (noun)
  The noun TYMPANI has 1 sense:

1. a large hemispherical brass or copper percussion instrument with a drumhead that can be tuned by adjusting the tension on it

  Familiarity information: TYMPANI used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• TYMPANI (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A large hemispherical brass or copper percussion instrument with a drumhead that can be tuned by adjusting the tension on it

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

kettle; kettledrum; timpani; tympani; tympanum

Hypernyms ("tympani" is a kind of...):

percussion instrument; percussive instrument (a musical instrument in which the sound is produced by one object striking another)

Derivation:

timpanist (a person who plays the kettledrums)

tympanic (resembling a drum)

tympanist (a person who plays the kettledrums)

 Context examples 

An opening in the cochlea where the scala tympani and scala vestibuli join to communicate.

(Helicotrema, NCI Thesaurus)

The wall of the cochlear duct, which separates it from the scala tympani.

(Basilar Membrane of the Membranous Canal of the Cochlea, NCI Thesaurus)

A membranous tube containing endolymph within the cochlea between the scala vestibuli and the scala tympani.

(Cochlear Duct, NCI Thesaurus)

A channel or tunnel for the tensor tympani muscle within the tympanic cavity which acts to dull sounds.

(Canal for Tensor Tympani, NCI Thesaurus)