a cylinder-shaped toy with a sequence of pictures on its inner surface which, when viewed through the vertical slits spaced regularly around it while the toy is rotated, produce an illusion of animation
Word origin
C19: Greek zoe life + trope turn
zoetrope in American English
(ˈzouiˌtroup)
noun
a device for giving an illusion of motion, consisting of a slitted drum that, when whirled, shows a succession of images placed opposite the slits within the drum as one moving image
Word origin
[1865–70; irreg. ‹ Gk zōe᷄ life + trope᷄ turn]This word is first recorded in the period 1865–70. Other words that entered Englishat around the same time include: figure skating, maverick, racism, springboard, valence
Examples of 'zoetrope' in a sentence
zoetrope
The zoetrope was an early form of animation, achieved with spinning imagery and strobe lighting.