Standard Lemma guide

spirograph

noun · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

No pronunciation record was provided for this word.

1

noun

Meaning 1

an instrument for measuring and recording the depth and rapidity of breathing movements

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: medicine, sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

A geometric drawing toy consisting of a set of plastic gears and toothed rings.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

a measuring instrument for recording the depth and rapidity of breathing movements

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: measuring instrument, measuring system, measuring device

History

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *sper- Proto-Indo-European *sper-yeh2- Ancient Greek σπεῖρα (speîra)der. Latin spīra Ancient Greek -ο- (-o-)der. Latin -o-bor. English -o- English spiro- English graph English spirograph From spiro- + graph.

Across languages

Translations

5 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Finnish: spirografi — instrument
  • Polish: spirograf — instrument
  • French: Spirographe — a geometric drawing toy
  • Italian: spirografo — a geometric drawing toy
  • Polish: spirograf — a geometric drawing toy