Audiocassettes

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A magnetic tape encased in a plastic shell used for recording and playing sound
2. a format for audio storage that became popular in the late 20th century
3. a portable medium that allowed users to listen to music and other recordings on various devices

Etymology: "Audiocassettes" is simply the plural of "audiocassette," so the story belongs to the singular. The term is a compound of "audio," from Latin "audire" meaning "to hear," and "cassette," borrowed from French, where it meant a small box or case. Put together, the name describes a small sealed box holding magnetic tape for sound, a container whose whole purpose was to carry hearing with it. The "cassette" half traces back to the Latin "capsa," a box or receptacle, which passed into French as "cassette" and then into English with the same sense of a small case. That is why the earlier, non-audio meaning of the word was simply a little box for jewels or valuables, and the sound-recording sense was attached to it later. The audio prefix is a modern addition that tells readers the box holds sound rather than objects.

Synonyms: tapes