Emily Dickinson Lexicon

DRUM, n. [D. trom, trommel; G. trommel; Sw. trumma; Dan. tromme; Ir. druma; probably from its sound, and the root of rumble, Gr. βρεμω, L. fremo. See Class Rm, No. 10, 11.]

1. A martial instrument of music, in form of a hollow cylinder, and covered at the ends with vellum, which is stretched or slackened at pleasure.
2. In machinery, a short cylinder revolving on an axis, generally for the purpose of turning several small wheels, by means of straps passing round its periphery. – Cyc.
3. The drum of the ear, the tympanum, or barrel of the ear; the hollow part of the ear, behind the membrane of the tympanium. The latter is a tense membrane, which closes the external passage of the ear, and receives the vibrations of the air. – Hooper.
4. A quantity packed in the form of a drum; as, a drum of figs.
5. Sheet-iron in the shape of a drum, to receive heat from a stove pipe.