carrier wave

Meanings

1. A wave that can be modulated, either in amplitude, frequency, or phase, to carry or transmit images, music, speech, or other signals.
2. Synonym of soliton (“a self-reinforcing pulse or travelling wave caused by any non-linear effect”).

Etymology

From carrier + wave. Sense 2 (“soliton”) was coined by the Scottish civil engineer, naval architect, and shipbuilder John Scott Russell (1808–1882): see the quotations.