joystick

[Mullins, Bill]

 OED has 1910 for joystick, but no etymology.

from the U.S.S. Lexington _Observer_, 27 July 1929. p2 col 1.


"The Joy Stick

Very few of the people in general know the origin of the term "Joy
Stick" used in control of planes.  Many consider it a slang expression
whereas it is really named after Robert Joyce, an Englishman, who
developed this type of control just before the World War."

Michael Quinion's World Wide Words alludes to this story, but here is an
old cite to back it up.