Etymology

zoetrope

Z10O1E1T1R1O1P3E1

Today it means: 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. Full definition →

Ancient Greek ζωή
Ask AI about its historyChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

The story

  1. Ancient Greek · derived fromζωή“life”
  2. English todayzoetrope

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

Words from the same roots

Ancient Greekζωή all →

zoehylozoismzoamylinZoëzoëaZoechromezoism

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.