gramophone
gramophone
Pronunciation
/ˈɡræməˌfoʊn/
Syllable Breakdown:
gra- /ɡræm/
/ɡ/ as in go
/r/ as in run
/æ/ as in cat
/m/ as in man
-o- /ə/
/ə/ as in about
-phone /foʊn/
/f/ as in fun
/oʊ/ as in go
/n/ as in no
Word Form Variations
Singular Noun: gramophone
Plural Noun: gramophones
Definitions, Synonyms and Antonyms
Noun
A device for playing back recorded sound, typically from a flat disc with a spiral groove. It operates by a needle tracing the groove, and the vibrations are amplified, often mechanically through a large horn or electronically.
Synonyms: phonograph, record player, Victrola (trademark), turntable
Antonyms: (There are no direct antonyms for this noun, as it describes a specific object.)
(Historical, informal) A recording itself, especially one of the large, shellac discs used with such a device.
Synonyms: record, disc, vinyl
Antonyms: (No direct antonyms.)
Examples of Use
Books
"We had two old chairs in the room, a table with a gramophone on it, and two boxes of records" (George Orwell, Down and Out in Paris and London, January 1933).
Newspapers
"A special type of gramophone has been designed for use on board ship... so that the ship’s vibration will not interfere with the playing of the record" (The Daily Mail, October 1928).
"The family gathered around the gramophone, listening to the crackling voice of Enrico Caruso" (The New York Times, May 2012).
Online Publications
"The first commercially successful gramophone was invented by Emile Berliner in the late 1880s, offering a key advantage over Thomas Edison’s phonograph" (Smithsonian Magazine, July 2019).
"In a charming nod to the past, many new cafés are featuring vintage gramophones as decorative centerpieces and even playing old shellac records on them" (Vogue, December 2021).
Entertainment Platforms
A character in a historical drama might exclaim, "Turn on the gramophone, I want to hear that new jazz record!"
In the video game BioShock, players can find audio diaries that are often depicted as being played on a gramophone-like device.
General Public Discourse
"My grandfather still has his working gramophone in the attic, complete with a massive horn and a collection of dusty 78s."
"Did you see that antique shop on Main Street? They have a stunning gramophone in the window, but the price is astronomical."
During a discussion about the history of recorded music, someone might say, "The shift from the phonograph cylinder to the flat gramophone disc was a pivotal moment for the music industry."
10 Famous Quotes Using Gramophone
The enemy is the gramophone mind, whether or not one agrees with the record that is being played at the moment. (George Orwell)
To the valediction of the gramophone hid in the bushes the audience departed. (Virginia Woolf, Between the Acts)
The gramophone record, the musical thought, the score, the waves of sound, all stand to one another in that pictorial internal relation which holds between language and the world. (Ludwig Wittgenstein, Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus)
On the island, and you’ve got the wind-up gramophone and you turn the handle hard and you put the first record on it, what is it? I like the Teddy Bears' Picnic. (J.G. Ballard, on a BBC radio show)
She turned on a little portable gramophone and put on a record of a tango, a tune she had just learned to love. (Agatha Christie, The Hollow)
I came across an old wind-up gramophone in the attic that had belonged to my grandmother. (Original Quote)
He always had a gramophone in his room and would play the same Caruso records for hours on end. (Original Quote)
They have radios to talk to them in their boats and to bring them the baseball. (Ernest Hemingway, The Old Man and the Sea, referring to a modern alternative to a gramophone)
As a special surprise, my father brought home a new portable gramophone for our holiday cottage. (Original Quote)
The gramophone sat on a mahogany table, a symbol of a bygone era of entertainment and leisure. (Original Quote)
Etymology
The word "gramophone" has a fascinating origin that comes from two different Greek roots.
First, you have the part "gramo-," which comes from the Greek word gramma, meaning "something written" or "a letter." Think of words like "grammar" or "diagram."
Then, you have "-phone," which is from the Greek word phōnē, meaning "sound" or "voice." You can see this root in words like "telephone" and "microphone."
So, when you put them together, "gramophone" literally means "written sound."
The term was created in 1887 by Emile Berliner, the inventor of the flat-disc record player. He chose this name because his machine played sounds that were "written" or etched into the grooves of a flat disc, a different method from Thomas Edison's earlier "phonograph," which used vertical indentations on a cylinder. Berliner's invention and his name for it became widely used and synonymous with this type of record player.
Phrases + Idioms Containing Gramophone
A broken gramophone record: This phrase is used to describe someone who is repeating the same thing over and over again, similar to a record with a scratch that causes it to skip and get stuck in a loop.
Like a cracked gramophone: This idiom refers to a person's voice or a sound that is old, distorted, or unpleasant.
Put a new record on the gramophone: This phrase suggests it's time to change the topic of conversation or move on to a new activity.
He's a regular human gramophone: This is a metaphorical way to describe someone who talks incessantly or can recall and repeat vast amounts of information.
The old gramophone is singing again: This is a humorous or sarcastic way of saying someone is starting to complain or lecture in a repetitive manner.
Wind up the gramophone: This is a call to get things started, a bit like "get the ball rolling," but with a nostalgic feel.
Turn off the gramophone: This is a request to stop a repetitive or annoying sound or conversation.
Skip like a gramophone record: This phrase describes someone who is jumping from one topic to another erratically or has a lapse in memory.
The gramophone of my youth: This is a nostalgic phrase referring to a memory or experience from one's past.
Singing to the gramophone: This can refer to someone who is performing for no audience or for an automated, unappreciative listener.
Vocabulary-Based Stories from SEA
Source Information
Definition of gramophone from The Academic Glossary at Self Exploration Academy, a Urikville Press Publication. © All rights reserved.
