stylus
n 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" [syn:
{stylus}, {style}]
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
45 Moby Thesaurus words for "stylus": Gramophone, PA, PA system, Victrola, audio sound system, audiophile, binaural system, bitch box, bullhorn, cartridge, ceramic pickup, changer, crystal pickup, derived four-channel system, discrete four-channel system, four-channel stereo system, hi-fi, hi-fi fan, high-fidelity, intercom, intercommunication system, jukebox, magnetic pickup, monaural system, mono, needle, nickelodeon, phonograph, photoelectric pickup, pickup, public-address system, quadraphonic sound system, radio-phonograph combination, record changer, record player, sound reproduction system, sound truck, squawk box, stereo, system, tape deck, tape recorder, tone arm, transcription turntable, turntable