Meanings
plural detectographs
- An early audio recording device used in wiretaps.
There were no stenographers and no detectographs in those days, and there is no record of this interview, fraught with such tremendous benefit to Germany and all Europe[…]
1914, United States Congress, Congressional edition1 more example
[…]it is taken for granted that the discussions are not significant, otherwise we might consider the advisability of capturing these golden words by the installation of detectographs throughout the club house.
1915, Journal of the Engineers' Society of Pennsylvania, volume 7
Origin
From detect + -o- + -graph. Possibly originally a trademark.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
detectograph. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/detectograph
“detectograph.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/detectograph. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “detectograph,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/detectograph.
Source: detectograph on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.