stylus
n. countablen. a small tool shaped like a pen that you use to write or draw on a computer screen. It can also be the needle on a record player.
n. a pen-shaped instrument used for input on touch-sensitive screens or for engraving; also refers to the needle used to play phonograph records.
I use a stylus to draw on my tablet.
The graphic designer preferred using a pressure-sensitive stylus because it felt more natural than a mouse.
While modern tablets rely on digital styluses for precision, the term originally referred to the pointed tool used by ancient scribes to mark wax tablets.
Borrowed from Latin stylus (“a stake or pale”). Probably not directly related to Ancient Greek στῦλος (stûlos, “a pillar”). Doublet of style.
The plural form can be either 'styluses' or 'styli', though 'styluses' is more common in technical contexts.