antenna
[an-ten-uh]
- a conductor by which electromagnetic waves are sent out or received, consisting commonly of a wire or set of wires; aerial.
- Zoology. one of the jointed, movable, sensory appendages occurring in pairs on the heads of insects and most other arthropods.
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Origin of antenna
1640–50; < Latin: a sailyard
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for antennas
Contemporary Examples
Says antennas are for civilian use only, to help Russian tourists find malls with Disney stores.
Molex specializes in little-noticed but vital devices like connectors, antennas, and switches.
Historical Examples
And, when we need them, the copper cables can be used as antennas.
Anything You Can Do ...Gordon Randall Garrett
The antennas of the sexes do not always agree in the number of joints.
An Introduction to Entomology: Vol. III (of 4)William Kirby
I got out my camera and took as many pictures as I could of the van and its antennas.
Little BrotherCory Doctorow
Those old steel rails themselves act as antennas for the broadcaster, and the rat's tail is the pickup antenna.
Anything You Can Do ...Gordon Randall Garrett
No, we had to tie it on top, it was too big to take inside with the antennas sticking out.
We Didn't Do Anything Wrong, HardlyRoger Kuykendall
antenna
- plural -nae (-naɪ) one of a pair of mobile appendages on the heads of insects, crustaceans, etc, that are often whiplike and respond to touch and taste but may be specialized for swimming or attachment
- plural -nas another name for aerial (def. 7)
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Word Origin
C17: from Latin: sail yard, of obscure origin
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for antennas
antenna
n.
1640s, "feeler or horn of an insect," from Latin antenna "sail yard," the long yard that sticks up on some sails, of unknown origin, perhaps from PIE root *temp- "to stretch, extend." In the etymological sense, it is a loan-translation of Aristotle's Greek keraiai "horns" (of insects). Modern use in radio, etc., for "aerial wire" is from 1902. Adjectival forms are antennal (1834), antennary (1836), antennular (1858).
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
antenna
[ăn-tĕn′ə]
- One of a pair of long, slender, segmented appendages on the heads of insects, centipedes, millipedes, and crustaceans. Most antennae are organs of touch, but some are sensitive to odors and other stimuli.
- A metallic device for sending or receiving electromagnetic waves, such as radio waves. Some antennas can send waves in or receive waves from all directions; others are designed to work only in a range of directions.
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The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.