Dictionary

stylus en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• (General-American) audio
• /ˈstaɪ.ləs/
• (Southern-England) audio

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin stylus (“a stake or pale”). Probably not directly related to Ancient Greek στῦλος (stûlos, “a pillar”). Doublet of style.

Meanings

1. An ancient writing implement consisting of a small rod with a pointed end for scratching letters on clay, wax-covered tablets or other surfaces, and a blunt end for obliterating them.
   • [T]he pleasure of writing on wax with a stylus is exemplified by the fine, flowing hand of a Roman scribe who made out the birth certificate of Herennia Gemella, born March 128 AD. 2013 September 14, Jane Shilling, “The Golden Thread: the Story of Writing, by Ewan Clayton, review”, in The Telegraph:
   • But that tactic may have older roots than we thought; archaeologists have discovered an iron stylus in London, complete with an inscribed joke, that dates back nearly 2,000 years. Of 200 styluses found at a site under Bloomberg’s new European headquarters, only one – dating back to around 70 A.D. – had a message inscribed onto it. 2019 July 28, Rob Picheta, “Ancient Roman pen with an inscribed joke found under streets of London”, in CNN:
2. An ancient writing implement consisting of a small rod with a pointed end for scratching letters on clay, wax-covered tablets or other surfaces, and a blunt end for obliterating them. ▸ A small implement with a pointed end used for engraving and tracing.
3. An ancient writing implement consisting of a small rod with a pointed end for scratching letters on clay, wax-covered tablets or other surfaces, and a blunt end for obliterating them. ▸ A small device resembling a pen used to input handwritten text or drawings directly into an electronic device with a touch-sensitive screen.
   • Use the stylus to scroll up and down the list or flip through the pages left and right. 2008, “PDA”, in Cory in the House: Instruction Booklet, Burbank, California: Disney Interactive Studios; Nintendo, page 10:
   • It’s the cheapest stylus Apple’s released yet, but you’ll need a USB-C iPad to use it. 2023 October 19, Mike Andronico, “Apple just revealed a new $79 Apple Pencil with USB-C — but is it right for you?”, in CNN:
4. A hard-pointed pen-shaped instrument for marking on stencils used in a mimeograph machine.
5. A hard point, typically of diamond or sapphire, following a groove in a phonograph and transmitting the recorded sound for reproduction.
6. A hard point, typically of diamond or sapphire, following a groove in a phonograph and transmitting the recorded sound for reproduction. ▸ A pointed device formerly used to produce a groove in a record when recording sound.
7. A tool for making small dots on a piece of heavy paper, used to produce Braille writing for the blind by hand.
8. Synonym of style.

Forms

Deriveds

styl- · gonostylus · stylo- · surstylus

Relateds

light pen · lightpen

Synonyms

style · needle · needle

Translations (91)

ru сти́лос (pen for writing on a touch-sensitive screen) · nb pekepenn (pen for writing on a touch-sensitive screen) · nl stylus (pen for writing on a touch-sensitive screen) · pt safira (phonograph needle) · ru сти́лус (tool for writing on clay tablets) · nl schrijfstift (tool for writing on clay tablets) · bg игличка (phonograph needle) · ko 첨필 (tool for writing on clay tablets) · fi osoitinkynä (pen for writing on a touch-sensitive screen) · de Stilus (tool for writing on clay tablets) · de Grammofonnadel (phonograph needle) · uk сти́лос (pen for writing on a touch-sensitive screen) · cmn 觸控筆 /触控笔 (pen for writing on a touch-sensitive screen) · hu gramofontű (phonograph needle) · be стыло́ (tool for writing on clay tablets) · ru стило́ (pen for writing on a touch-sensitive screen) · da griffel (tool for writing on clay tablets) · ru иго́лка (phonograph needle) · eo nadlo (phonograph needle) · cmn 唱針 /唱针 (phonograph needle) · bg писалка (pen for writing on a touch-sensitive screen) · hu íróvessző (tool for writing on clay tablets) · de Schreibgriffel (tool for writing on clay tablets) · de Schreibspitze (tool for writing on clay tablets) · grc ἐγκεντρίς (tool for writing on clay tablets) · de Eingabestift (pen for writing on a touch-sensitive screen) · it stilo (pen for writing on a touch-sensitive screen) · pt punção (tool for writing Braille) · fr stylet (pen for writing on a touch-sensitive screen) · bg сти́лус (tool for writing on clay tablets) · nl stylus (tool for writing on clay tablets) · el στυλός (pen for writing on a touch-sensitive screen) · cmn 盲文筆 /盲文笔 (tool for writing Braille) · fr poinçon (tool for writing Braille) · fi kirjoitusnaskali (tool for writing Braille) · uk сти́лос (tool for writing on clay tablets) · nn peikepenn (pen for writing on a touch-sensitive screen) · uk стило́ (tool for writing on clay tablets) · it stilo (tool for writing on clay tablets) · es punzón (tool for writing Braille) · de Stylus (pen for writing on a touch-sensitive screen) · de Saphir (phonograph needle) · es aguja (phonograph needle) · es estilo (pen for writing on a touch-sensitive screen) · ru сти́лос (tool for writing on clay tablets) · nb pren (tool for writing Braille) · nn stylus (tool for writing on clay tablets) · el γραφίδα (tool for writing on clay tablets) · pl stylus (tool for writing on clay tablets) · uk стиль (tool for writing on clay tablets) · nl naald (phonograph needle) · ro stil (tool for writing on clay tablets) · es lápiz óptico (pen for writing on a touch-sensitive screen) · mr स्टायलस (pen for writing on a touch-sensitive screen) · ru стило́ (tool for writing on clay tablets) · fr style (tool for writing on clay tablets) · nn pren (tool for writing Braille) · ru сти́лус (pen for writing on a touch-sensitive screen) · es estilo (tool for writing on clay tablets) · cs stylus (pen for writing on a touch-sensitive screen) · nb stift (phonograph needle) · nn stift (phonograph needle) · pl rysik (pen for writing on a touch-sensitive screen) · uk сти́лус (tool for writing on clay tablets) · nb stylus (tool for writing on clay tablets) · pt estilete (tool for writing on clay tablets) · fi neula (phonograph needle) · es lápiz digital (pen for writing on a touch-sensitive screen) · la stilus (tool for writing on clay tablets) · nl griffel (tool for writing on clay tablets) · ko 스타일러스 (pen for writing on a touch-sensitive screen) · it puntina (phonograph needle) · pt agulha (phonograph needle) · hy ստիլուս (pen for writing on a touch-sensitive screen) · fr stylet (tool for writing on clay tablets) · fi stilus (tool for writing on clay tablets) · pt estilo (tool for writing on clay tablets) · es estilete (pen for writing on a touch-sensitive screen) · ca estil (tool for writing on clay tablets) · es estilete (tool for writing on clay tablets) · uk сти́лус (pen for writing on a touch-sensitive screen) · eo grifelo (pen for writing on a touch-sensitive screen) · ja スタイラス (pen for writing on a touch-sensitive screen) · ja スタイラス (tool for writing on clay tablets) · cmn 光筆 /光笔 (pen for writing on a touch-sensitive screen) · de Touchpen (pen for writing on a touch-sensitive screen) · fr saphir (phonograph needle) · cmn 描畫針 /描画针 (tool for writing on clay tablets) · el βελόνα (phonograph needle) · ko 스타일러스 (tool for writing on clay tablets) · eo grifelo (tool for writing on clay tablets)