Etymology

magnetophone

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Today it means: A tape recorder (device using magnetic tape as a storage medium). Full definition →

First used ca. 1940sGerman Magnetophon
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The story

  1. German · derived fromMagnetophon
  2. English todaymagnetophone

From magneto- + -phone. The sense “tape recorder” is probably a semantic loan from German Magnetophon (modern spelling Magnetofon), which was initially a brand name).

First known use, by meaning

  • from ca. 1940s A tape recorder (device using magnetic tape as a storage medium).
  • late 19th–mid-20th c. An electromagnetic microphone.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.