polygraph en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- /ˈpɒliɡɹɑːf/
- /ˈpɒliɡɹæf/
- (Southern-England) audio
Etymology
From poly- + -graph.
Meanings
-
A device which measures and records several physiological variables such as blood pressure, heart rate, respiration and skin conductivity while a series of questions is being posed to a subject, in an attempt to detect deception.
It used to be just a plain office with a chair and some instruments on a table. Then they got the new, fancy polygraph system.
1992, Neal Stephenson, Snow Crash, page 270:
- (dated) A mechanical instrument for multiplying copies of a writing, resembling multiple pantographs.
- (archaic) A collection of different works, either by one or several authors.
- A group of letters that represent a single phoneme.
-
Any group of letters treated as a single item.
A polygraph consists of an unspecified number of adjacent letters. A polygraph need not be recognisable as a word in a language but if we are attempting to decipher a message which is expected to be in English and we find the heptagraph MEETING it is much more promising than if we find a heptagraph such as DKRPIGX.
2002, Robert Churchhouse, Codes and Ciphers: Julius Caesar, the Enigma, and the Internet, page 3:
- An author who writes on many subjects.
- A multidimensional directed graph.
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| polygraphs | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Deriveds
Synonyms
manifold writer · lie detector · autopen · computad · multigraph
Translations (28)
cmn 測謊機 /测谎机 (device to discern if a subject is lying) · yue 測謊器 /测谎器 (device to discern if a subject is lying) · pl poligraf (device to discern if a subject is lying) · ca polígraf (device to discern if a subject is lying) · pl wariograf (device to discern if a subject is lying) · ko 폴리그래프 (device to discern if a subject is lying) · fr polygraphe (device to discern if a subject is lying) · hu hazugságvizsgáló (device to discern if a subject is lying) · kk жалған айтуды анықтау құрылғысы (device to discern if a subject is lying) · gl polígrafo (device to discern if a subject is lying) · cmn 測謊儀 /测谎仪 (device to discern if a subject is lying) · cmn 測謊器 /测谎器 (device to discern if a subject is lying) · fa پلیگراف (device to discern if a subject is lying) · ru полигра́ф (device to discern if a subject is lying) · es polígrafo (device to discern if a subject is lying) · de Lügendetektor (device to discern if a subject is lying) · ko 거짓말 탐지기 (device to discern if a subject is lying) · ja 嘘発見器 (device to discern if a subject is lying) · ru дете́ктор лжи (device to discern if a subject is lying) · fi valheenpaljastin (device to discern if a subject is lying) · pt polígrafo (device to discern if a subject is lying) · he פּוֹלִיגְרָף (device to discern if a subject is lying) · hu poligráf (device to discern if a subject is lying) · ja ポリグラフ (device to discern if a subject is lying) · yue 測謊儀 /测谎仪 (device to discern if a subject is lying) · tr poligraf (device to discern if a subject is lying) · fr détecteur de mensonges (device to discern if a subject is lying) · yue 測謊機 /测谎机 (device to discern if a subject is lying)