Tympanon

Tympanon (Gk.), 1. Gk.: hand-beaten *frame drum of ancient Greece, held in one hand and struck with the fingers of the other, usually with 2 heads, occasionally with only 1. It corresponded to the Near Eastern tof and, like other Near Eastern frame drums, was played by women only. A cult instr.; 2. Fr.: dulcimer. How the word came to designate a stringed instr. is not clear: in the 10th c. rotte is translated as tympanon, and the OEngl. term glēobēam was also glossed as tympanum. Furetière in…