stylus

[stahy-luh s] /ˈstaɪ ləs/

noun, plural styli

[stahy-lahy] /ˈstaɪ laɪ/ (Show IPA), styluses.

an instrument of metal, bone, or the like, used by the ancients for writing on waxed tablets, having one end pointed for incising the letters and the other end blunt for rubbing out writing and smoothing the tablet.

any of various pointed, pen-shaped instruments used in drawing, artwork, etc.

Computers. a pen-shaped device used on a display screen to input commands or handwritten text or drawings.

Compare joystick (def 2), mouse (def 4).

Audio.

Also called cutting stylus. a needle used for cutting grooves in making a disk recording to be played on a phonograph.
a needle for reproducing the sounds of a phonograph record.

any of various pointed wedges used to punch holes in paper or other material, as in writing Braille.

any of various kinds of pens for tracing a line automatically, as on a recording seismograph or electrocardiograph.

Also, style (for defs 1, 2).

Origin

1720-30; < Latin: spelling variant of stilus stake, pointed writing instrument; spelling with -y- from fancied derivation < Greek stŷlos column

Examples from the web for stylus

The app allows users to create their own digital flipbooks by drawing the images using the stylus.
On the blank canvas, simply tap the pencil icon, use your fingertip or stylus pen to print on the screen.
Press down on the leak with the stylus to prevent further damage.
Players take pictures of people or anything else, then watch them pop out of holes before bopping them with the stylus.
The pot allegedly had waveforms etched into a groove as a potter incised a line with a stylus while the pot spun.
It has two screens, one of which is touch-sensitive and can be tapped or written on with fingernails or a stylus.
The program could be put into these devices and operated with a mouse, tracker-ball or stylus, instead of an eyeball.
He pulled out the stylus he used to manipulate the touchscreen, and was ready to go.
Physicists suspend an ion in space to act as a minuscule stylus.
Furthermore, the device allows for convenient zooming and annotations with a stylus.

British Dictionary definitions for stylus

stylus

/ˈstaɪləs/

noun (pl) -li (-laɪ), -luses

Also called style. a pointed instrument for engraving, drawing, or writing

a tool used in ancient times for writing on wax tablets, which was pointed at one end and blunt at the other for erasing mistakes

a device attached to the cartridge in the pick-up arm of a record player that rests in the groove in the record, transmitting the vibrations to the sensing device in the cartridge. It consists of or is tipped with a hard material, such as diamond or sapphire

Derived Forms

stylar, adjective

Word Origin

C18: from Latin, variant of stilus writing implement; see style

Word Origin and History for stylus

1728, "stem-like part of a flower pistil," alteration of Latin stilus "stake, stylus;" spelling influenced by Greek stylos "pillar" (see stet). Meaning "instrument for writing" is from 1807.

stylus in Medicine

stylus sty·lus (stī'ləs)
n. pl. sty·lus·es or sty·li (-lī)

A pencil-shaped structure.
A pencil-shaped medicinal preparation for external application; as a medicated bougie.
See stylet.