zoetrope
/ˈzəʊɪtɹəʊp/
zoetrope noun: an optical toy, in which figures made to revolve on the inside of a cylinder, and viewed through slits in its circumference, appear like a single figure passing through a series of natural motions as if animated or mechanically moved.
Noun
zoetrope (plural zoetropes)
- An optical toy, in which figures made to revolve on the inside of a cylinder, and viewed through slits in its circumference, appear like a single figure passing through a series of natural motions as if animated or mechanically moved.
- Is consciousness really discontinuous, incessantly interrupted and recommencing (from the psychologist’s point of view)? and does it only seem continuous to itself by an illusion analogous to that of the zoetrope?1890, William James, The principles of psychology, page 200
- This was the way I passed through the remainder of my childhood. The zoetrope span smoothly, time’s Chief Designer narrowed the legs of trousers and decreed that the cars should be more aerodynamic.1993, Will Self, My Idea of Fun
- Synonyms:
- daedalum, thaumatrope
zoetrope meaning in Tamil and Urdu
zoetrope in Tamil
- இயங்குக் காட்சிக் கருவி, தொடக்கநிலை வண்ணத்திரைக் காட்சிமுறை
zoetrope in Urdu
- چرخ حیات, گردش نما
Synonyms of zoetrope
Forms of zoetrope
| plural | zoetropes |
|---|
Origin of zoetrope
From Ancient Greek ζωή (zōḗ, “life”) + -trope. Coined by inventor William E. Lincoln.
Words formed from zoetrope
Questions about zoetrope
- What does zoetrope mean?
- Zoetrope means an optical toy, in which figures made to revolve on the inside of a cylinder, and viewed through slits in its circumference, appear like a single figure passing through a series of natural motions as if animated or mechanically moved.
- What is zoetrope in Tamil?
- Zoetrope in Tamil is இயங்குக் காட்சிக் கருவி, தொடக்கநிலை வண்ணத்திரைக் காட்சிமுறை. See Zoetrope meaning in Tamil.
- What part of speech is zoetrope?
- Zoetrope is a noun.
- How do you pronounce zoetrope?
- Zoetrope is pronounced /ˈzəʊɪtɹəʊp/.
- What is the plural of zoetrope?
- The plural of zoetrope is zoetropes.
Words near zoetrope in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: zoetrope (page history and authors); zoetrope (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); zoetrope (Urdu Wiktionary) (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-zoetrope.wav.
Cite this entry: “zoetrope.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/zoetrope. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.