kinescope

1 of 2

noun

ki·​ne·​scope ˈki-nə-ˌskōp How to pronounce kinescope (audio)
 also  ˈkī-
1
2
: a motion picture made from an image on a picture tube

kinescope

2 of 2

verb

kinescoped; kinescoping

transitive verb

: to make a kinescope of

Did you know?

Kinescope, originally a trademark for the cathode-ray tube in a TV, later became the name for a film of a TV screen showing a live broadcast. In order for a program to be seen beyond New York in the early days of TV, a kinescope had to be shipped from station to station. Though grainy and fuzzy, these were for a time the only way of capturing live shows. But in 1951 Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball decided to film their comedy show rather than to broadcast it live, and in a few years live broadcast comedy and drama had vanished from the airwaves.

Examples of kinescope in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Arnaz asked to shoot using 35-millimeter film, rather than the lesser-quality kinescope. Raj Tawney, Smithsonian Magazine, 18 Sep. 2024 For me, watching Hayes as Levant — like watching kinescopes of Levant himself — is excruciatingly sad. Jesse Green, New York Times, 24 Apr. 2023 In order to produce the best quality, Desi also asked to shoot with the costlier 35mm film rather than grainy kinescope technology. Raj Tawney, Fortune, 4 Jan. 2022 On the surface the old episodes—some of them represented by clips from fuzzy black-and-white kinescopes—are charming antiques, what with their leisurely pace and production values that seemed quaintly retro even way back when. Joe Morgenstern, WSJ, 7 June 2018 It was captured via kinescope, a primitive technique that aimed a camera at a TV screen to record the broadcast on film. Paul Sullivan, chicagotribune.com, 15 Apr. 2018 A kinescope of the black-and-white broadcast, not great quality but good enough, was finally made available on DVD in 2004. Anthony Tommasini, James R. Oestreich, Corinna Da Fonseca-Wollheim, David Allen, Michael Cooper and Zachary Woolfe, New York Times, 24 Nov. 2016 The kinescopes of the game — which had not been seen since its original broadcast, the same as Super Bowl I — had been found in Bing Crosby’s old wine cellar. Richard Sandomir, New York Times, 16 Jan. 2016 A kinescope of Game 7 of the 1960 World Series between the Pittsburgh Pirates and the New York Yankees was discovered in Bing Crosby’s wine cellar. Richard Sandomir, New York Times, 28 Mar. 2016

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'kinescope.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun

from Kinescope, a trademark

First Known Use

Noun

1930, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1949, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of kinescope was in 1930

Dictionary Entries Near kinescope

Cite this Entry

“Kinescope.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/kinescope. Accessed 31 Oct. 2024.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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