\Tym"pa*ny\, n. [Gr. ?, fr. ? a kettledrum. See {Tympanites}.] 1. (Med.) A flatulent distention of the belly; tympanites. --Fuller. 2. Hence, inflation; conceit; bombast; turgidness. ``Thine 's a tympany of sense.'' --Dryden. A plethoric a tautologic tympany of sentence. --De Quincey.