drum head

plural drum heads · alternative drumhead

1. The thin circle of material attached to the top of a drum shell for the purpose of striking, sometimes made of skin but often synthetic.

   […] out bounced the pudden itself, hoppin', as nimble as a pea on a drum-head, about the floor.

   1845, William Carleton, “The Pudding Bewitched”, in Tales and Sketches: Illustrating the Character, Usages, Traditions, Sports and Pastimes of the Irish Peasantry, Dublin: James Duffy, page 227

   2 more examples

   […] I noticed with surprise, that when I struck the ice with the head of my axe, it resounded like a gong for many rods around, or as if I had struck on a tight drumhead.

   1854, Henry David Thoreau, chapter XVII, in Walden, New York: Thomas Y. Crowell & Co, published 1910, page 398

   Deer as mythological flying creatures appear to have played a vital role in the religious life of Zhang Zhung. It is written in Tibetan texts that its body parts were sought after in the manufacture of ritual objects such a[s] drumheads and tabernacles.

   2014, John Vincent Bellezza, chapter 2, in The Dawn of Tibet: The Ancient Civilization on the Roof of the World, Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield, page 43

   Synonyms: drumskin, skin

2. A drumhead cabbage.

   The Savoy is best for boiling; drum-head and purple for Cole-Slaw.

   1896, Fanny Merritt Farmer, chapter XIX, in The Boston Cooking-School Cook Book, Boston: Little, Brown & Co., published 1918