Timpani
/ˈtɪm.pə.ni/noun
Large kettledrums tuned to specific pitches, used especially in orchestral music.
Did you know?English timpanist and timpani ultimately come from Italian, where the word was used for a drum, but the deeper family behind it reaches back to a root meaning to strike or beat—proof that even music carries the language of force.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*temp-
“to stretch, extend, or beat (the ancestral root behind a broad family of words)”
Latin
Latin
tempus
“time, season; also a period or stretch of time”
Medieval Latin
Latin
tympanum
“a drum, tambourine, or the flat round part of a wheel; from Greek”
Ancient Greek
Greek
τύμπανον (týmpanon)
“a drum or kettledrum, originally a beaten instrument”
Italian
Italian
timpano
“a kettledrum”
Modern English
English
timpani
“kettledrums used in orchestras”
Explore more surprising origins