From Greek 'mikros' (small) + 'phone' (voice) — literally 'small-voice,' making quiet sounds audible.
An instrument for converting sound waves into electrical energy variations, which may then be amplified, transmitted, or recorded.
Coined in 1827 by English physicist Charles Wheatstone, from Greek mikros (small, little) + phōnē (voice, sound). Wheatstone's original device was purely acoustic — a mechanical amplifier that carried faint sounds through rods and wires, making small voices audible at a distance. The literal meaning is small-voice: an instrument for
The modern abbreviation 'mic' (as in 'open mic night' or 'drop the mic') is spelled without a 'k' despite 'microphone' having one. The spelling 'mike' was standard for decades (and is still used by some style guides), but 'mic' — which looks like it should rhyme with 'tic' — has won out in popular usage, especially since the rise of 'mic drop' in the 2010s. It is one of English's rare abbreviations that introduced
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