Danbooru

Tag Alias: earphones/headphones. Tag implication: earbuds -> headphones.

Posted under General

Headphones and earphones are the same thing according to dictionary.com, which should carry more weight than any google searches.

But even so, an implication earbuds->headphones and, if you will, alias earbuds/earphones is better than nothing.

From Merriam-Webster Dictionary
Earbud: a small earphone inserted into the ear.
Headphone: an earphone held over the ear by a band worn on the head —usually used in plural.
Earphone: a device that converts electrical energy into sound waves and is worn over or inserted into the ear.

From American Heritage Dictionary
Headphone: A receiver, as for a telephone, radio, or stereo, held to the ear by a headband.
Earphone: A device that converts electric signals, as from a telephone, stereo, or radio receiver, to audible sound and fits over or in the ear. Also called a earpiece.

Going by these definitions both headphones and earbuds are earphones, but earbuds would not be considered headphones.

And according to wikipedia, earphones and earbuds are the same thing, and they are headphones, but not all headphones are earphones.

Urgh, seems like this nomenclature is as ambiguous as can be, since even not even Merriam-Webster and Random House are in agreement, so forget I said anything from the start. ^_~

Updated

Headphones and Earbuds/earphones are not the same thing. Get over it. Headphones are held in place by a strap over the head and usually cover the entire ear. Earbuds are inserted into the ear and do not need a headband to be held in place. Earphones on the other hand can cover the entire ear, but not need a band going over the head.

homeless_homo said:
Get over it.

Calm down. There is nothing to get over since whis was never about opinions but about definitions. Some sources define it the same, and some don't. You just repeated exactly what was in NWF_Renim's post.

I don't know that dictonary.com (or any other single dictionary) was a good source to begin with. Prescriptive vs. descriptive linguistics, etc... I'd go with Google, Wikipedia, and what I'd consider common use and keep earphone/earbuds distinct from headphones for all the reasons stated.

Shinjidude said:
Prescriptive vs. descriptive linguistics, etc... I'd go with Google, Wikipedia, and what I'd consider common use and keep earphone/earbuds distinct from headphones for all the reasons stated.

So we go with earbuds=earphones and headphones are different, from wikipedia and the google statistics? I'm OK with that. ^_^

I disagree, though, that wikipedia is not prescriptive. It is more easily updated, but that is just a matter of degree.

homeless_homo said: I say earphones =
And earbuds =

I don't think we need three different tags though. Anything that goes inside the ear instead of over it, *usually* but not always with both sides not connected to each other, should be one tag, while normal headphones get the tag they've always gotten. earphones just needs some cleanup, as it currently has both.

jxh2154 said:
I don't think we need three different tags though. Anything that goes inside the ear instead of over it, *usually* but not always with both sides not connected to each other, should be one tag, while normal headphones get the tag they've always gotten. earphones just needs some cleanup, as it currently has both.

Personally, since they are three different things, it would seem only right to tag them correctly. However, I don't search for either of the three tags so I could care less.

Well technically we could get really technical and start breaking headphones out into circumaural_headphones and supra-aural_headphones; seperate the canalphones from earbuds; and then re-instate earphone as a supra-aural_headphone with no band. Is it really worth it though?

Surprisingly even after breaking all these apart there would probably still be plenty in each category. Headphone pics are popular for some reason.

I'm happy with it as it stands.

When I think earpiece I imagine something like the Secret Service use or agents use in the Matrix. As for the cell phone ones, the ones I've seen sold are labeled as hands free headsets.

Personally I think the earphones images should be divided between earbuds and headphones, I don't see a particular reason to be using earphones.

1