Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

magic lantern

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.58 in modern English

Syllables: mag-ic lantern
IPA

17

Scrabble Score

12

Letters

2

Syllables

10

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

An early light projector and precursor to the slide projector that could achieve simple animation by moving and merging images.

noun

A slide projector.

Dated

Example Sentences

""You know how that trick was, don't you Dan?" said Bob, "it was a magic lantern.""

Etymology

Calque of Latin lanterna magica.

Usage

Dated

Inflected Forms

magic lanterns (plural)

Phrases

lantern slide magic lantern show

Frequently Paired Words

lantern slide magic lantern show zoetrope praxinoscope phenakistoscope

Questions

What does magic lantern mean?: An early light projector and precursor to the slide projector that could achieve simple animation by moving and merging images.
Where does magic lantern come from?: Calque of Latin lanterna magica.

How to pronounce magic lantern

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “magic lantern”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “magic lantern”.
Repeat and practice — Say “magic lantern” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.