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A stylus (plural: styli) is a writing utensil. It usually refers to a narrow, elongated staff, similar to a modern ballpoint pen. Many styli are slightly curved to be held more easily.
The word was borrowed from Latin stilus, that was taken from an Etruscan word that has its origin in Greek stulos (pillar).
Styli were used from classical times until the nineteenth century to write on wax tablets (tabulae), which were used for a variety of purposes, from secretaries' notes to recording accounts. One end of such styli was pointed for writing and the other was flattened into a broad shape for erasing. Styli are also used to engrave into metal or clay.
Today, the term stylus often refers to an input method usually used in PDAs and Digitizing Tablets. In this method, a stylus that secretes no ink touches a touch screen instead of a finger to avoid getting the natural oil from one's hands on the screen, or produces brushstrokes in a computer screen, respectively.
In the sound recording industry, a stylus is a phonograph or gramophone needle used to play back sound on gramophone records, as well as to record the sound indentations on the master record.