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Glite Dictionary
🎶 A music player 🎬 A cheap cinema
nickelodeon

nickelodeon

8 9.8
A machine that plays records when you put in a coin
  • noun
  • /ˌnɪkəˈloʊdiən/
  • Archaic
translation icon : niquelófono

Synonyms

jukebox
vsnickelodeon
62 4.7

A music player in public places that plays songs when you put in a coin

plays a record automatically after a coin without letting the user choose

Surface Forms

nickelodeon singular
nickelodeons plural

Morphology

nickelodeon = nickel + odeon (opaque) = nickel + odeon

The parts 'nickel' and 'odeon' are identifiable, but 'odeon' is an uncommon combining form and the sense 'coin-operated music cabinet' is a metaphorical extension rather than a direct 'theatre' meaning.

Etymology

Nickelodeon begins with nickel, the coin meaning 'five cents', and ends with odeon, a word for a 'place for singing' related to the English word ode. These were coin-operated machines where people put a nickel in to play a record, so the name fits a 'five-cent singing place'.