Phonograph

Pho"no*graph

(?), n. [Phono- + -graph.] 1. A character or symbol used to represent a sound, esp. one used in phonography.
[1913 Webster]

2. (Physics) An instrument for the mechanical registration and reproduction of audible sounds, as articulate speech, etc. It consists of a rotating cylinder or disk covered with some material easily indented, as tinfoil, wax, paraffin, etc., above which is a thin plate carrying a stylus. As the plate vibrates under the influence of a sound, the stylus makes minute indentations or undulations in the soft material, and these, when the cylinder or disk is again turned, set the plate in vibration, and reproduce the sound.
[1913 Webster]

3. an instrument for reproducing sounds, especially music, previously recorded on a plastic cylinder or disk as a pattern of bumps or wiggles in a groove. A needle (stylus) held in the groove is made to vibrate by motion (rotation) of the recording, and the vibrations caused by the bumps and wiggles are transmitted directly to a membrane, or first to an electronic amplifier circuit, thereby reproducing with greater or less fidelity the original sounds. A phonograph which is equipped with electronics enabling the playback of sound with high fidelity to the original is often called a hi-fi. In the 1990's such devices are beginning to be replaced in many homes by compact disk players; the production of plastic recordings of music for playback on a phonograph has almost ceased for entertainment purposes.
[PJC]

 

New - Add Dictionary Search to Your Site

You can add a free dictionary search box to your own web site by copying and pasting the following HTML into one of your web pages: 

<form action="http://www.freedict.co.uk/search.php" method="post">
 <p style="text-align: center; font-family: sans-serif;">
  <a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.freedict.co.uk/"
     title="FreeDict free online dictionary">FreeDict</a>
  <input type="text" name="word" size="20" value="" />
  <input type="submit" name="submit" value="Search Dictionary" />
 </p>
</form>

 

a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z

Mon 18th January 2021