or antennas
Erich Segal
Did you know?
The Latin word antenna meant “sail yard,” which is the long spar that supports and spreads the sail on a sailing vessel. The Greek word for a sail yard was keraia, but that was only one meaning of this word. The primary meaning was “horn.” The philosopher Aristotle used keraiai to describe the feelers of insects, probably because of their resemblance to the horns of some larger animals. In a Latin translation of Aristotle’s work made during the Renaissance, the word antennae was used for Greek keraiai. In English we still use antennae for insects’ feelers. And now we also use antenna for the metal rods that pick up radio waves and seem to “feel the air” like the antennae of an insect.
Examples of antenna in a Sentence
Simon Hill, WIRED, 5 Jan. 2025
The station’s antenna can be seen in one of the films.
—Randy Mason, Kansas City Star, 2 Jan. 2025
Last April, the head of Sweden’s Navy told a local news outlet that there was evidence such ships were being used to conduct signals intelligence on behalf of Russia and that some fishing vessels had been spotted with antennas and masts not normally seen on commercial vessels.
—Michael Schwirtz, New York Times, 28 Dec. 2024
While fewer than one-fifth (18.1%) of all U.S. TV homes access OTA programming via an antenna, the big uptick in network coverage is almost certain to help bring the numbers back up, as the direct impact of the shrinking pay-TV universe is reduced.
—Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 27 Dec. 2024
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Dictionary Entries Near antenna
Cite this Entry
“Antenna.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/antenna. Accessed 17 Jan. 2025.
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antenna
noun
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