or antennas
Erich Segal
Did you know?
The Latin word antenna meant “sail yard,” which is the long spar that supports and spreads the sail on a sailing vessel. The Greek word for a sail yard was keraia, but that was only one meaning of this word. The primary meaning was “horn.” The philosopher Aristotle used keraiai to describe the feelers of insects, probably because of their resemblance to the horns of some larger animals. In a Latin translation of Aristotle’s work made during the Renaissance, the word antennae was used for Greek keraiai. In English we still use antennae for insects’ feelers. And now we also use antenna for the metal rods that pick up radio waves and seem to “feel the air” like the antennae of an insect.
Examples of antenna in a Sentence
Jordan Valinsky, CNN, 16 Jan. 2025
The antenna receives satellite signals and the receiver interprets them to provide an exact location.
—Ronald Bisio, Forbes, 14 Jan. 2025
Only viewers who rely on the over-the-air antennas for television found the station blacked out.
—Meg James, Los Angeles Times, 10 Jan. 2025
Instead, what happened is that the copper wire inside acted as a sort of antenna that absorbed the microwaves and in turn heated the surrounding PVC.
—Michael Franco, New Atlas, 31 Dec. 2024
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Dictionary Entries Near antenna
Cite this Entry
“Antenna.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/antenna. Accessed 24 Jan. 2025.
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antenna
noun
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