Word.ws English Dictionary

phenakistoscope

/ˌfɛnəˈkɪstəskəʊp/

phenakistoscope noun: an early animation device consisting of a disc or drum which rotated, showing successive images through slits, often via a mirror, thus producing the illusion of motion.

phenakistoscope: an early animation device consisting of a disc or drum which rotated, showing successive images...
Image: Thomas Mann Baynes animation Basile Morin, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Noun

phenakistoscope (plural phenakistoscopes)

  1. An early animation device consisting of a disc or drum which rotated, showing successive images through slits, often via a mirror, thus producing the illusion of motion.
    Synonyms:
    fantascope, fantasmascope

phenakistoscope meaning in Arabic

phenakistoscope in Arabic

Translations
قُرْصُ المُصْطَرِبَة qurṣu l-muṣṭariba

Synonyms of phenakistoscope

Forms of phenakistoscope

pluralphenakistoscopes
alternative formphenakistiscope
alternative formphénakistiscope
alternative formphénakistoscope

Origin of phenakistoscope

From French phénakistiscope, from Ancient Greek φενακιστής (phenakistḗs, “cheat, imposter”) + French -scope.

Words formed from phenakistoscope

Questions about phenakistoscope

What does phenakistoscope mean?
Phenakistoscope means an early animation device consisting of a disc or drum which rotated, showing successive images through slits, often via a mirror, thus producing the illusion of motion.
What is phenakistoscope in Arabic?
Phenakistoscope in Arabic is قُرْصُ المُصْطَرِبَة (qurṣu l-muṣṭariba). See Phenakistoscope meaning in Arabic.
What part of speech is phenakistoscope?
Phenakistoscope is a noun.
How do you pronounce phenakistoscope?
Phenakistoscope is pronounced /ˌfɛnəˈkɪstəskəʊp/.
What is the plural of phenakistoscope?
The plural of phenakistoscope is phenakistoscopes.

Words near phenakistoscope in the dictionary

  1. phenakism
  2. phenakisms
  3. phenakistiscope
  4. phenakistiscopes
  5. phenakistiscopic
  6. phenakistoscope
  7. phenakistoscopes
  8. phenakistoscopic
  9. phenakite
  10. phenakites
  11. phenalene

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: phenakistoscope (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-phenakistoscope.wav.

Cite this entry: “phenakistoscope.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/phenakistoscope. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.