noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   An early animation device consisting of a disc or drum which rotated, showing successive images through slits, often via a mirror, thus producing the illusion of motion.

Synonyms

All synonyms

fantascopefantasmascope

Etymology

From French phénakistiscope, from Ancient Greek φενακιστής (phenakistḗs, “cheat, imposter”) + French -scope.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.