telephone

== English == === Etymology === The noun is derived from tele- (prefix meaning ‘from a distance’) +‎ -phone (suffix denoting a device which makes a sound), modelled after German Telephon (“early apparatus converting sound into electrical signals”) (dated) (now German Telefon). The word was first used to refer to the modern device in 1876 by the Scottish-born Canadian-American engineer Alexander Graham Bell (1847–1922). The prefix tele- is ultimately derived from Ancient Greek τῆλε (têle, “afar, far away, far off”), from Proto-Indo-European *kʷelh₁- (“to turn end-over-end; to revolve around; hence, to dwell, sojourn”). The suffix -phone is ultimately from Ancient Greek φωνή (phōnḗ, “sound; voice”), and Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂- (“to say; to speak”). Noun sense 4.4 (“system of communication using musical notes”) is borrowed from French téléphone (“kind of megaphone; system of communication using musical notes”). The verb is derived from the noun. === Pronunciation === (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈtɛlɪfəʊn/ (General American) IPA(key): /ˈtɛləˌfoʊn/, [ˈtɛɫ-] (General Australian) IPA(key): [ˈteɫəˌfəʉn] (New Zealand) IPA(key): [ˈteɫəˌfɐʉn] (Scotland) IPA(key): /ˈtɛlɪfon/ (Wales, without the toe–tow merger) IPA(key): /ˈtɛlɪfoːn/ Hyphenation: tel‧e‧phone === Noun === telephone (countable and uncountable, plural telephones) (countable, telephony) A telecommunication device which converts data or sounds (usually speech) into electrical signals which are then transmitted to enable two or more people to communicate with each other over a distance; now usually a device having a dial or keypad with numerals for entering a number, etc., to connect with a person, and means (such as a sound or vibration) for alerting one to an incoming call or transmission; also, the handset or receiver of such a device. Synonyms: (US, slang, dated) Ameche, (slang) blower, (slang) dog and bone, (informal) horn, phone, (slang) pipe; see also Thesaurus:phone Hyponyms: cellphone; cordless phone, cordless telephone; mobile phone, mobile telephone; payphone; satellite phone, satellite telephone (countable, archaic, later in India) Short for telephone call (“a connection established over a telephone network; a conversation held by the parties on this connection”). (countable, figurative) A means of communicating information from one person to another or others. (countable, historical) Now chiefly preceded by a descriptive word: a simple communication device which converts sounds (usually speech) into mechanical vibrations along a string, wire, etc. string telephone    tin can telephone (archaic) A type of foghorn used for sending signals in the form of loud tones or musical notes, especially one invented in the 19th century by John Taylor, a captain in the British Royal Navy. (archaic) A communication device consisting of two aligned gutta-percha speaking tubes connected to parabolic reflectors which allows speech spoken into one tube to be sent through the air to the other one, invented in the 19th century by the British engineer Francis Whishaw (1804–1856); also, a speaking tube of such a device. (archaic) A system of communication using musical notes, also known as Solresol, invented in 1828 by the French composer Jean-François Sudre (1787–1862). (uncountable, Canada, US, games) Synonym of Chinese whispers (“a game for several players in which a phrase, whispered by each person in turn to their neighbour, is often unwittingly misunderstood as it is transferred, to humorous effect by the time it reaches the last person and is compared with the original phrase; (figurative) a situation where something is changed or misunderstood as a result of passing through successive people or processes”). ==== Usage notes ==== Regarding noun sense 1 (“telecommunication device which converts data or sounds into electrical signals which are then transmitted”), telephone tends to be used to mean a fixed-line or landline telephone rather than a mobile phone. ==== Hyponyms ==== ==== Derived terms ==== ==== Translations ==== === Verb === telephone (third-person singular simple present telephones, present participle telephoning, simple past and past participle telephoned) (transitive) To convey (information, a message, news, etc.) using a telephone (noun sense 1). To (attempt to) contact (someone) using a telephone. Synonyms: call, call up, drop (someone) a line, (chiefly Commonwealth) ring, (chiefly Commonwealth) ring up, phone; see also Thesaurus:telephone Hyponyms: call back, retelephone (obsolete) To provide (a place) with a telephone system. To transmit (sounds) over a distance. (intransitive) To (attempt to) contact someone using a telephone; to make a telephone call. ==== Derived terms ==== ==== Translations ==== === References === === Further reading === telephone on Wikipedia.Wikipedia === Anagrams === phenetole