tympanist

[ tim-puh-nist ]

noun

1. a person who plays the drums, especially the kettledrums, in an orchestra.

tympanist

/ ˈtɪmpənɪst /

noun

1. a person who plays a drum, now specifically the kettledrum

Word History and Origins

Origin of tympanist¹

1605–15; < Latin tympanista < Greek tympanistḗs, equivalent to tympan ( ízein ) to beat a drum + -istēs -ist

Example Sentences

He began drumming in grade school and was a tympanist in local symphony orchestras.

From Washington Post

Surrounded by six of them, the steel pan tympanist plays the bass line.

From Washington Times

Chopin would have been a great tympanist if he had not wasted his life foolishly at the piano.

From Project Gutenberg

Ah me! what a tympanist was lost to the world.

From Project Gutenberg