stylus

Noun
Synonyms: style

WordNet 3.0

Noun (2)

  1. a sharp pointed device attached to the cartridge of a record player
  2. a pointed tool for writing or drawing or engraving“he drew the design on the stencil with a steel stylus”Synonyms: style
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Webster's Dictionary (GCIDE)

Stylus \Sty"lus\, n. [L. stylus, or better stilus.]

1.An instrument for writing. See Style, n., 1. [1913 Webster]

2.That needle-shaped part at the tip of the playing arm of phonograph which sits in the groove of a phonograph record while it is turning, to detect the undulations in the phonograph groove and convert them into vibrations which are transmitted to a system (since 1920 electronic) which converts the signal into sound; also called needle. The stylus is frequently composed of a hard metal or of diamond. [PJC]

3.The needle-like device used to cut the grooves which record the sound on the original disc during recording of a phonograph record; it is moved by the vibrations given to the diaphragm by a sound, and produces the indented record. [PJC]

4.(Computers) A pen-shaped pointing device used to specify the cursor position on a graphics tablet. [PJC] Stymie

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