stylus

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

1. n. A sharp, pointed instrument used for writing, marking, or engraving.
2. n. Computer Science A pointed instrument used as an input device on a pressure-sensitive screen.
3. n. A phonograph needle.
4. n. A sharp, pointed tool used for cutting record grooves.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. n. A sponge-spicule of the monaxon uniradiate type, sharp at one end and not at the other. It is regarded as an oxea one of whose rays is suppressed.
2. n. In entomology, a style or stylet.
3. n. In a phonograph, a pointed part which rests on the diaphragm and is moved by the vibrations induced in the latter by sound-waves. It is used to produce the record of sounds upon the phonographic cylinders, and also to reproduce the sounds thus recorded.

Wiktionary

1. n. A sharp stick used in ancient times for writing in clay tablets; a sharp tool for engraving.
2. n. A phonograph needle.
3. n. A small plastic stick used as a pen for writing on the touch sensitive screen of an electronic gadget.
4. n. A tool for making small dots on a piece of heavy paper, used to produce Braille writing for the blind by hand.

GNU Webster's 1913

1. n. An instrument for writing. See style, n., 1.
2. n. That needle-shaped part at the tip of the playing arm of phonograph which sits in the groove of a phonograph record while it is turning, to detect the undulations in the phonograph groove and convert them into vibrations which are transmitted to a system (since 1920 electronic) which converts the signal into sound; also called needle. The stylus is frequently composed of a hard metal or of diamond.
3. n. The needle-like device used to cut the grooves which record the sound on the original disc during recording of a phonograph record; it is moved by the vibrations given to the diaphragm by a sound, and produces the indented record.
4. n. (Computers) A pen-shaped pointing device used to specify the cursor position on a graphics tablet.

WordNet 3.0

1. n. a pointed tool for writing or drawing or engraving
2. n. a sharp pointed device attached to the cartridge of a record player