joystick meaning: definition, etymology and quotations

joystick

noun

CA, US, UK, SC /ˈd͡ʒɔɪ.stɪk/ · AU /ˈd͡ʒoɪ.stɪk/

Etymology From joy + stick. First attested around 1910 (as joy-stick) as the control stick on an airplane. Its relation to the word joy is unclear.

A mechanical control device consisting of a handgrip mounted on a base or pedestal and typically having one or more buttons, used to control an aircraft, computer, or other equipment.

If games are your life, the choice of a joystick is desperately important.1989, Microtimes, volume 6, page 140:

Slang A penis.

She playing with my joystick All in my two seater2015, “Gamez”, performed by Maejor ft. Keri Hilson:

Derived terms: joyport, joysticklike, joystick waggler, minijoystick

joystick

verb

Etymology From joy + stick. First attested around 1910 (as joy-stick) as the control stick on an airplane. Its relation to the word joy is unclear.

Rare To maneuver by means of a joystick (noun sense 1).

Marketing your home isn't as difficult as joysticking a Mars rover through a crater, despite what many people believe.2006, Sid Davis, Home makeovers that sell, page 124:
Therefore, part of the errors in the localization results is due to the problem of joysticking the robot exactly onto the marked positions.2007, Gerhard Lakemeyer, Elizabeth Sklar, Domenico G Sorrenti, Tomoichi Takahashi, RoboCup 2006: Robot Soccer World Cup X, page 254:

1 more example

It can run in autonomous mode or be manually joysticked using a radio controller.2007, Gaurav Suhas Sukhatme, Stefan Schaal, Wolfram Burgard, Dieter Fox, Robotics: Science and Systems II, page 106: