Thaumatrope

1 definition found

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

  Thaumatrope \Thau"ma*trope\ (th[add]"m[.a]*tr[=o]p), n. [Gr.
     qay^ma a wonder + tre`pein to turn.] (Opt.)
     An optical instrument or toy for showing the persistence of
     an impression upon the eyes after the luminous object is
     withdrawn.
     [1913 Webster]


  
     Note: It consists of a card having on its opposite faces
           figures of two different objects, or halves of the same
           object, as a bird and a cage, which, when the card is
           whirled rapidly round a diameter by the strings that
           hold it, appear to the eye combined in a single
           picture, as of a bird in its cage.
           [1913 Webster]