STYLUS

stylus, style

(noun) a pointed tool for writing or drawing or engraving; “he drew the design on the stencil with a steel stylus”

stylus

(noun) a sharp pointed device attached to the cartridge of a record player

Source: WordNet® 3.1

Etymology

Noun

stylus (plural styli or styluses)

A sharp stick used in ancient times for writing on clay tablets or other surfaces; a sharp tool for engraving.

Synonym: style

A tool for making small dots on a piece of heavy paper, used to produce Braille writing for the blind by hand.

A phonograph needle.

(botany) synonym of style

(computing) A small plastic stick used as a pen for writing on the touch-sensitive screen of an electronic device.

Source: Wiktionary

Sty"lus, n. Etym: [L. stylus, or better stilus.]

Definition: An instrument for writing. See Style, n., 1. That needle-shaped part at the tip of the playing arm of phonograph which sits in the groove of a phonograph record while it is turning, to detect the undulations in the phonograph groove and convert them into vibrations which are transmitted to a system (since 1920 electronic) which converts the signal into sound; also called needle. The stylus is frequently composed of metal or diamond. 3. The needle-like device used to cut the grooves which record the sound on the original disc during recording of a phonograph record. 4. (Computers)

Definition: A pen-shaped pointing device used to specify the cursor position on a graphics tablet.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition