stylus

CEFRB2

/ˈstaɪ.ləs/

noun

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

01
noun
A pen-shaped tool used to control a touchscreen.
02
noun
Extra detail
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.

Examples

It is possible to write Braille by hand using a slate and a stylus.
Many devices with resistive touchscreens also include a stylus for more precise pointing.

At a glance

Sits at B2 on the CEFR scale

Deep Dive

Extra meanings

A small implement with a pointed end used for engraving and tracing.
A small device resembling a pen used to input handwritten text or drawings directly into an electronic device with a touch-sensitive screen.
A hard-pointed pen-shaped instrument for marking on stencils used in a mimeograph machine.

In context

[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.
Use the stylus to scroll up and down the list or flip through the pages left and right.
It’s the cheapest stylus Apple’s released yet, but you’ll need a USB-C iPad to use it.

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

The word in print, with each source given in full.

[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
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

Looking a word up is the easy part. LexUp remembers which words you have met and brings them back at the point you were about to forget them.

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