Definition of Antenna

1. Noun. An electrical device that sends or receives radio or television signals.


2. Noun. Sensitivity similar to that of a receptor organ. "He had a special antenna for public relations"
Exact synonyms: Feeler
Generic synonyms: Sensitiveness, Sensitivity

3. Noun. One of a pair of mobile appendages on the head of e.g. insects and crustaceans; typically sensitive to touch and taste.
Exact synonyms: Feeler
Generic synonyms: Tentacle
Derivative terms: Antennal, Antennary, Feel, Feel

Definition of Antenna

1. n. 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.

Definition of Antenna

1. Noun. A feeler organ on the head of an insect, crab, or other animal. ¹

2. Noun. An apparatus to receive or transmit radio waves and convert respectively to or from an electrical signal. ¹

3. Noun. The faculty of intuitive astuteness. ¹

4. Usage notes. For multiple ''feelers'' the Anglicised plural, ''antennas'', is used only rarely in scholarly works in the life sciences. In other subjects and in less formal settings, ''antennas'' is found with increased frequency. ¹

5. Usage notes. For multiple ''aerials'' both plural forms are acceptable in scholarly works. The Latinate plural, ''antennae'', is rarer in less formal settings. ¹

6. Usage notes. Some make a distinction between an (term antenna) and an (term aerial), with the former used to indicate a rigid structure for radio reception or transmission, and the latter consisting of a wire strung in the air. For those who do not make a distinction, (term antenna) is more commonly used in the United States and (term aerial) is more commonly used in the United Kingdom. ¹

7. Usage notes. For the faculty of intuitive astuteness, the Latinate plural is used most frequently but both forms are found. ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Definition of Antenna

1. a metallic device for sending or receiving radio waves [n -NAE or -NAS] : ANTENNAL [adj]

Medical Definition of Antenna

1. Origin: L. Antenna sail-yard; NL, a feeler, horn of an insect. 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. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998)

Lexicographical Neighbors of Antenna

antemeridiem
antemetic
antemetics
antemortem
antemortem clot
antemortem thrombus
antemosaic
antemundane
antemural
antemurals
antenatal
antenatal diagnosis
antenatally
antenati
antenicene
antenna (current term)
antennae
antennaed
antennal
antennaless
antennalike
antennapedia
antennapedia complex
antennary
antennas
antenniferous
antenniform
antennular
antennule
antennules

Literary usage of Antenna

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. Science by American Association for the Advancement of Science (1915)
"This high electrical tension forces one kind of electricity into the upper part of the antenna and the opposite kind into the lower part of the antenna ..."

2. The American Naturalist by American Society of Naturalists, Essex Institute (1894)
"Near the end of the first joint the main nerve of the antenna gives ... On the outside of the antenna no sense hairs are found corresponding to these pores, ..."

3. Transactions of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers by American Institute of Electrical Engineers (1919)
"A coil aerial is as powerful as an antenna only when its dimensions approach those of the antenna. For other reasons, however, a small coil aerial is in ..."

4. Directory of Federal Laboratory and Technology Resources: A Guide to (1993)
"0704 Low Frequency antenna Test Facility National Aeronautics and Space Administration Langley Research Center, Mail Stop 200, Hampton, VA 23681-0001 ..."

5. Wireless Telegraphy by Jonathan Adolf Wilhelm Zenneck (1915)
"Every radio station has an open oscillator, the "antenna," that part of the antenna which is suspended in the air being called the "aerial. ..."

6. The Microscope: And Its Revelations by William B[enjamin] Carpenter (1856)
"Among the Lepi- doptera, again, the conformation of the antenna; frequently enables us at once to distinguish the group to which any specimen belongs. ..."

7. A Monograph on the Isopods of North America by Harriet Richardson (1905)
"First antenna, b, Second antenna, <•, First leg. d, Third leg. p, First pleopod. /, Second pleopod of male, g, Lateral view of abdomen 64 48. ..."

8. Galileo, the Tour Guide: A Summary of the Mission to Date edited by Jean H. Aichele (1997)
"The antenna had been stowed like a closed umbrella since launch. ... The antenna failed to open. For many months, the problem was studied and various fixes ..."

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