tympan

• POS: Noun
• HYPHEN: tym=pan

CIDE DICTIONARY

tympan, n. [F., fr. L. tympanum a kettledrum, a panel of a door. See Tympanum, and cf. Tymp.].

•  A drum.  [1913 Webster]
•  A panel; a tympanum.  [1913 Webster]
•  A frame covered with parchment or cloth, on which the blank sheets are put, in order to be laid on the form to be impressed.  [1913 Webster]

Tympan sheet (Print.), a sheet of paper of the same size as that to be printed, pasted on the tympan, and serving as a guide in laying the sheets evenly for printing. W. Savage.

OXFORD DICTIONARY

tympan, n.
1 Printing an appliance in a printing-press used to equalize pressure between the platen etc. and a printing-sheet.
2 Archit. = TYMPANUM.

Etymology

F tympan or L tympanum: see TYMPANUM