stylus
noun/ˈstaɪ.ləs/
Etymology Borrowed from Latin stylus (“a stake or pale”). Probably not directly related to Ancient Greek στῦλος (stûlos, “a pillar”). Doublet of style.
8 senses
- 1An ancient writing implement consisting of a small rod…
- 2A small implement with a pointed end used for engraving…
- 3A small device resembling a pen used to input…
- 4A hard-pointed pen-shaped instrument for marking on…
- 5A hard point, typically of diamond or sapphire…
- 6A pointed device formerly used to produce a groove in a…
- 7A tool for making small dots on a piece of heavy paper…
- 8Synonym of style.
Communications, Journalism, Literature, Media, Publishing, Writing An ancient writing implement consisting of a small rod with a pointed end for scratching letters on clay, wax-covered tablets or other surfaces, and a blunt end for obliterating them.
- [T]he pleasure of writing on wax with a stylus is exemplified by the fine, flowing hand of a Roman scribe who made out the birth certificate of Herennia Gemella, born March 128 AD.2013 September 14, Jane Shilling, “The Golden Thread: the Story of Writing, by Ewan Clayton, review”, in The Telegraph:
- But that tactic may have older roots than we thought; archaeologists have discovered an iron stylus in London, complete with an inscribed joke, that dates back nearly 2,000 years. Of 200 styluses found at a site under Bloomberg’s new European headquarters, only one – dating back to around 70 A.D. – had a message inscribed onto it.2019 July 28, Rob Picheta, “Ancient Roman pen with an inscribed joke found under streets of London”, in CNN:
Communications, Journalism, Literature, Media, Publishing, Writing A small implement with a pointed end used for engraving and tracing.
Communications, Computing, Engineering, Journalism, Literature, Mathematics, Media, Natural sciences, Physical sciences, Publishing, Sciences, Writing A small device resembling a pen used to input handwritten text or drawings directly into an electronic device with a touch-sensitive screen.
- Use the stylus to scroll up and down the list or flip through the pages left and right.2008, “PDA”, in Cory in the House: Instruction Booklet, Burbank, California: Disney Interactive Studios; Nintendo, page 10:
- It’s the cheapest stylus Apple’s released yet, but you’ll need a USB-C iPad to use it.2023 October 19, Mike Andronico, “Apple just revealed a new $79 Apple Pencil with USB-C — but is it right for you?”, in CNN:
A hard-pointed pen-shaped instrument for marking on stencils used in a mimeograph machine.
A hard point, typically of diamond or sapphire, following a groove in a phonograph and transmitting the recorded sound for reproduction.
A pointed device formerly used to produce a groove in a record when recording sound.
A tool for making small dots on a piece of heavy paper, used to produce Braille writing for the blind by hand.
- Derived terms
- gonostylus, stylo-, styl-, surstylus
- Related terms
- light pen, lightpen