auriphone
|au-ri-phone|
🇺🇸
/ˈɔɹɪfoʊn/
🇬🇧
/ˈɔːrɪfəʊn/
ear + sound device
Etymology
'auriphone' originates from a modern coinage combining Latin and Greek elements: Latin 'aur-' or 'auris' meaning 'ear' and Greek 'phōnē' meaning 'voice' or 'sound'.
'auriphone' appears as a late 19th-century technical coinage in English (or New Latin/technical usage), formed by combining 'aur-' (from Latin 'auris') and Greek 'phōnē', and used to name devices for listening or amplifying sound.
Initially coined to denote any instrument for listening or amplifying sound (including early medical or acoustic devices); it has retained the general sense of an ear-related sound device, though the term is now rare or historical compared with 'hearing aid'.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
a device for listening to or amplifying sounds for the ear; a form of early hearing aid or acoustic listening instrument.
The engineer demonstrated how the auriphone amplified faint noises produced by the machinery.
Synonyms
Noun 2
a small instrument used to listen to internal sounds (historical/obsolete usage, similar to an early stethoscope).
In medical texts from the late 19th century, the auriphone is described as an aid for examining chest sounds.
Synonyms
Last updated: 2025/11/21 03:25