Zoetrope

//ˈzəʊɪtɹəʊp// noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    An optical toy, in which figures made to revolve on the inside of a cylinder, and viewed through slits in its circumference, appear like a single figure passing through a series of natural motions as if animated or mechanically moved.

    "Is consciousness really discontinuous, incessantly interrupted and recommencing (from the psychologist’s point of view)? and does it only seem continuous to itself by an illusion analogous to that of the zoetrope?"

Synonyms

All synonyms
daedalumthaumatrope

Example

More examples

"Is consciousness really discontinuous, incessantly interrupted and recommencing (from the psychologist’s point of view)? and does it only seem continuous to itself by an illusion analogous to that of the zoetrope?"

Etymology

From Ancient Greek ζωή (zōḗ, “life”) + -trope. Coined by inventor William E. Lincoln.

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