Adjacent Words

antenna definitions

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WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: an electrical device that sends or receives radio or television signals [syn: antenna, aerial, transmitting aerial]
2: sensitivity similar to that of a receptor organ; "he had a special antenna for public relations" [syn: antenna, feeler]
3: one of a pair of mobile appendages on the head of e.g. insects and crustaceans; typically sensitive to touch and taste [syn: antenna, feeler]

Merriam Webster's

noun (plural antennae or -nas) Etymology: Medieval Latin, from Latin, sail yard Date: 1646 1. plural -nae one of a pair of slender movable segmented sensory organs on the head of insects, myriapods, and crustaceans — see insect illustration 2. a usually metallic device (as a rod or wire) for radiating or receiving radio waves 3. antennae plural a special sensitivity or receptiveness <his political antennae proved to be shrewder than ever — Erich Segal> • antennal adjective

Britannica Concise

Component of radio, television, and radar systems that directs incoming and outgoing radio waves. Usually of metal, antennas range in shape and size from the mastlike devices used for radio and television broadcasting to the large parabolic reflectors used to focus satellite signals and the radio waves generated by distant astronomical objects and reflect them toward the centrally located receiver. Antennas were invented in the 1880s by H. Hertz; G. Marconi made many improvements. In zoology, one of a pair of slender, segmented sensory organs on the head of insects, myriapods (e.g, centipedes, millipedes), and crustaceans. Antennae of insects, which are movable, are believed to serve as both tactual and smell receptors; in some species, the development of elaborate antennal plumes and brushlike terminations has led to the suggestion that they also serve for hearing. Evidence supports this idea only for the mosquito, whose antennae are attached to specialized structures stimulated by vibrations of the antennal shaft. In social insects (e.g., ants), antennae movements may serve as communication. Component of radio, television, and radar systems that directs incoming and outgoing radio waves. Usually of metal, antennas range in shape and size from the mastlike devices used for radio and television broadcasting to the large parabolic reflectors used to focus satellite signals and the radio waves generated by distant astronomical objects and reflect them toward the centrally located receiver. Antennas were invented in the 1880s by H. Hertz; G. Marconi made many improvements. In zoology, one of a pair of slender, segmented sensory organs on the head of insects, myriapods (e.g, centipedes, millipedes), and crustaceans. Antennae of insects, which are movable, are believed to serve as both tactual and smell receptors; in some species, the development of elaborate antennal plumes and brushlike terminations has led to the suggestion that they also serve for hearing. Evidence supports this idea only for the mosquito, whose antennae are attached to specialized structures stimulated by vibrations of the antennal shaft. In social insects (e.g., ants), antennae movements may serve as communication.

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. (pl. antennae) 1 Zool. one of a pair of mobile appendages on the heads of insects, crustaceans, etc., sensitive to touch and taste; a feeler. 2 (pl. antennas) = AERIAL n. Derivatives: antennal adj. (in sense 1). antennary adj. (in sense 1). Etymology: L, = sail-yard

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Antenna An*ten"na, n.; pl. Antenn[ae]. [L. antenna sail-yard; NL., a feeler, horn of an insect.] (Zo["o]l.) A movable, articulated organ of sensation, attached to the heads of insects and Crustacea. There are two in the former, and usually four in the latter. They are used as organs of touch, and in some species of Crustacea the cavity of the ear is situated near the basal joint. In insects, they are popularly called horns, and also feelers. The term in also applied to similar organs on the heads of other arthropods and of annelids.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(antennae, or antennas) Note: 'antennas' is the usual plural form for meaning 2. 1. The antennae of something such as an insect or crustacean are the two long, thin parts attached to its head that it uses to feel things with. N-COUNT: usu pl 2. An antenna is a device that sends and receives television or radio signals. = aerial N-COUNT

Moby Thesaurus

aerials, barb, barbel, barbule, bedspring type, cat whisker, directional antenna, dish, doublet, feed-and-reflector unit, feeler, mast, mattress type, palp, palpus, reflector, rhombic antenna, scanner, strike radar scanner, tactile cell, tactile corpuscle, tactile hair, tactile organ, tactile process, tactor, tower, transmitting antenna, vibrissa, wave antenna