stylus

American  

[stahy-luhs] / ˈstaɪ ləs /

noun

plural

styli, styluses

1. an instrument of metal, bone, or the like, used by the ancients for writing on waxed tablets, having one end pointed for incising the letters and the other end blunt for rubbing out writing and smoothing the tablet.

2. any of various pointed, pen-shaped instruments used in drawing, artwork, etc.

3. Computers. a pen-shaped device used on a display screen to input commands or handwritten text or drawings.

4. Audio.

   1. Also called cutting stylus.  a needle used for cutting grooves in making a disk recording to be played on a phonograph.

   2. a needle for reproducing the sounds of a phonograph record.

5. any of various pointed wedges used to punch holes in paper or other material, as in writing Braille.

6. any of various kinds of pens for tracing a line automatically, as on a recording seismograph or electrocardiograph.

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stylus British  

/ ˈstaɪləs /

noun

1. Also called: style.  a pointed instrument for engraving, drawing, or writing

2. a tool used in ancient times for writing on wax tablets, which was pointed at one end and blunt at the other for erasing mistakes

3. a device attached to the cartridge in the pick-up arm of a record player that rests in the groove in the record, transmitting the vibrations to the sensing device in the cartridge. It consists of or is tipped with a hard material, such as diamond or sapphire

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Other Word Forms

• stylar adjective

Etymology

Origin of stylus

1720–30; < Latin: spelling variant of stilus stake, pointed writing instrument; spelling with -y- from fancied derivation < Greek stŷlos column