from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Thaumatrope \Thau"ma*trope\ (th[add]"m[.a]*tr[=o]p), n. [Gr.
qay^ma a wonder + tre`pein to turn.] (Opt.)
An optical instrument or toy for showing the persistence of
an impression upon the eyes after the luminous object is
withdrawn.
[1913 Webster]
Note: It consists of a card having on its opposite faces
figures of two different objects, or halves of the same
object, as a bird and a cage, which, when the card is
whirled rapidly round a diameter by the strings that
hold it, appear to the eye combined in a single
picture, as of a bird in its cage.
[1913 Webster]