stylus

stylus
/stuy"leuhs/, n., pl. styli /-luy/, 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. Audio.
a. Also called cutting stylus. a needle used for cutting grooves in making a disk recording to be played on a phonograph.
b. a needle for reproducing the sounds of a phonograph record.
4. any of various pointed wedges used to punch holes in paper or other material, as in writing Braille.
5. any of various kinds of pens for tracing a line automatically, as on a recording seismograph or electrocardiograph.
Also, style (for defs. 1, 2).
[1720-30; < L: sp. var. of stilus stake, pointed writing instrument; sp. with -y- from fancied derivation < Gk stylos column]

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▪ writing implement
plural  Styli, or Styluses,  

      pointed instrument for writing and marking. The stylus was used in ancient times as a tool for writing on parchment or papyrus. The early Greeks incised letters on wax-covered boxwood tablets using a stylus made of a pointed shaft of metal, bone, or ivory. In the Middle Ages, schoolboys in Europe used similar instruments to write on wooden tablets coated with black or green wax, producing whitish marks that could be erased by rubbing with the rounded end. In modern times, a stylus is used for cutting stencils in duplicating or other reproduction processes and, in the phonograph industry, to cut the original grooves in phonograph records; the needle used to play phonograph records is also called a stylus.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • stylus — sty‧lus [ˈstaɪləs] noun also ˈstylus pen styluses PLURALFORM or styli PLURALFORM [ laɪ] [countable] COMPUTING …   Financial and business terms

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  • STYLUS — Gr. Γλυφίον; Ausonio coekum, item caltes, ab eadem origine nonnullis dicitur. Et habemus caeltis vocem in veter, lapide apud pud Aldum Orthogr. et Gruterum Inser. p. 329. Nam neque hic utramentum; vel papyrus, aut membrana ulla adbuc; sed… …   Hofmann J. Lexicon universale

  • stylus — 1728, stem like part of a flower pistil, alteration of L. stilus stake, stylus; spelling influenced by Gk. stylos pillar (see STET (Cf. stet)). Meaning instrument for writing is from 1807 …   Etymology dictionary

  • Stylus — Stylus, 1) s. Stylos; 2) so v.w. Griffel, s.u. Blüthe I. B) b) …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • Stylus — (lat.), Griffel, s. Blüte, S. 88; S. causticus, der Ätzstift …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

  • stylus — ► NOUN (pl. styli) 1) a hard point following a groove in a gramophone record and transmitting the recorded sound for reproduction. 2) an ancient writing implement for scratching letters on wax covered tablets. ORIGIN an erroneous spelling of… …   English terms dictionary

  • stylus — [stī′ləs] n. pl. styluses or styli [stī′lī] [L, for stilus, pointed instrument: see STYLE] 1. a style or other needlelike marking device 2. any of various pointed tools, as one used for marking mimeograph stencils or one used in Braille embossing …   English World dictionary

  • Stylus — A stylus (plural: styli or styluses ) is a writing utensil. The word is also used for a computer accessory (PDAs). It usually refers to a narrow elongated staff, similar to a modern ballpoint pen. Many styluses are heavily curved to be held more… …   Wikipedia

  • Stylus — Sty|lus 〈m.; , Sty|li〉 1. 〈Pharm.〉 stiftförmiges Arzneimittel, Zäpfchen 2. 〈Bot.〉 Griffel (am Fruchtknoten) 3. 〈Zool.〉 Fortsatz am Hinterleib mancher Insekten [<lat. stilus (fälschl. stylus) „Griffel“] * * * I Stylus   [griechisch »Säule«;… …   Universal-Lexikon

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