Meanings
nountensor tympani (plural tensores tympanorum)
plural tensores tympanorum
- anatomyA small muscle of the middle ear that is located in the bony canal just above the bony part of the Eustachian tube, that arises from the canal containing it, from the cartilaginous portion of the Eustachian tube, and from the adjacent greater wing of the sphenoid bone, that is inserted by a long tendon into the manubrium of the malleus near its base, and that serves to adjust the tension of the tympanic membrane.
Origin
- New Latintensor tympanī“tensor of the tympanum”
- Englishtensor tympani
Borrowed from New Latin tensor tympanī (“tensor of the tympanum”).
More words from New Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Chinese Mandarin 鼓膜張肌 /鼓膜张肌, 張鼓膜肌 /张鼓膜肌
- 鼓膜張肌 /鼓膜张肌 (gǔmózhāngjī)muscle
- 張鼓膜肌 /张鼓膜肌 (zhānggǔmójī)muscle
Italian tensore del timpano, muscolo tensore del timpano
- tensore del timpanomuscle
- muscolo tensore del timpanomuscle
Spanish tensor del tímpano, músculo tensor del tímpano
- tensor del tímpanomuscle
- músculo tensor del tímpanomuscle
Cite this entry
APA
tensor tympani. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tensor%20tympani
MLA
“tensor tympani.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tensor%20tympani. Accessed November 3, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “tensor tympani,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tensor%20tympani.
Source: tensor tympani on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.