joystick

or joy stick

[joi-stik]

noun

Informal. the control stick of an airplane, tank, or other vehicle.
Computers. a lever resembling this, used to control movement of a cursor or other graphic element for video games and computer graphics.Compare mouse(def 4), stylus(def 3).
any leverlike switch for controlling, manipulating, guiding, or the like.

Origin of joystick

First recorded in 1905–10; joy + stick¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for joy-stick

Historical Examples of joy-stick

He leapt lightly into the machine and jiggled the joy-stick.
Tam O' The Scoots
Edgar Wallace
"Good-bye, sir," replied Dastral, his hand already on the joy-stick.
Dastral of the Flying Corps
Rowland Walker
A girl sat at the joy-stick looking as if carved out of wood.
The White Morning
Gertrude Atherton
At two thousand feet Dastral pushed back the joy-stick, and flattened out.
Dastral of the Flying Corps
Rowland Walker
These ailerons, wing sections, really, are controlled by a device known as the joy-stick in the cockpit.
Opportunities in Aviation
Arthur Sweetser

British Dictionary definitions for joy-stick

joystick

noun

informal the control stick of an aircraft or of any of various machines
computing a lever by means of which the display on a screen may be controlled used esp for games, flight simulators, etc

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for joy-stick

joystick

also joy stick, 1910, aviators' slang for the control lever of an airplane, from joy + stick (n.).