Cyclograph

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. An instrument designed to reproduce or trace curves and drawings by mechanical means
2. A mechanical tool used to duplicate curved shapes or graphical patterns precisely
3. A device that allows exact copying of a curve or figure through mechanical tracing

Etymology: Cyclograph is a plain construction: it joins "cyclo-", from Greek "kyklos" meaning "circle" or "wheel", to "-graph", from Greek "graphein", "to write" or "to draw." Put together, the name describes an instrument that draws circles or curved outlines, which fits the tool's job of reproducing curved shapes and graphical patterns. The pieces are old, but the combined word belongs to the modern technical vocabulary built from classical roots, the same pattern behind many names for measuring and recording devices. Ancient Greeks had no such instrument under this name, so the term is a later coinage, not a classical survival.