Phonograph

4 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Phonograph \Pho"no*graph\, n. [Phono- + -graph.]
     1. A character or symbol used to represent a sound, esp. one
        used in phonography. [archaic]
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. (Physics) An instrument for the mechanical registration


        and reproduction of audible sounds, as articulate speech,
        etc. An early simple version consisted 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. Modern
        versions use electronic circuitry and various more stable
        recording media to record sound more accurately.
        [1913 Webster + PJC]
  
     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 transduced into electrical impulses and sent 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}.
  
     Note: 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]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  phonograph
       n : machine in which rotating records cause a stylus to vibrate
           and the vibrations are amplified acoustically or
           electronically [syn: {record player}]

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  45 Moby Thesaurus words for "phonograph":
     Gramophone, PA, PA system, Victrola, audio sound system,
     audiophile, binaural system, bitch box, bullhorn, cartridge,
     ceramic pickup, changer, crystal pickup,
     derived four-channel system, discrete four-channel system,
     four-channel stereo system, hi-fi, hi-fi fan, high-fidelity,
     intercom, intercommunication system, jukebox, magnetic pickup,
     monaural system, mono, needle, nickelodeon, photoelectric pickup,
     pickup, public-address system, quadraphonic sound system,
     radio-phonograph combination, record changer, record player,
     sound reproduction system, sound truck, squawk box, stereo, stylus,
     system, tape deck, tape recorder, tone arm,
     transcription turntable, turntable
  
  

From THE DEVIL'S DICTIONARY ((C)1911 Released April 15 1993) [devils]:

  PHONOGRAPH, n.  An irritating toy that restores life to dead noises.