n.a metal
disc coated with
wax, used in early phonograph machines to record and
play back
sound. As someone spoke into a mouthpiece, the
sound was recorded by a
needle which vibrated to the
sound of the voice, and scratched a wiggly pattern into a rotating
wax disc. In
order to
play the
sound back, another
needle was guided through the same pattern of grooves, vibrating in the same manner as the former
needle and the recorded
sound was again produced.
Wax records were made in the
late 1800s and early 1900s, until they were replaced by more durable recording
materials which could be made more cheaply.