telephone

Pronunciation: /ˈtɛləˌfoʊn/

Reading level: hard

Estimated CEFR level: B2 — Upper-Intermediate

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun electronic equipment that converts sound into electrical signals that can be transmitted over distances and then converts received signals back into sounds
  2. noun transmitting speech at a distance
  3. verb get or try to get into communication (with someone) by telephone

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.

In classic literature

Synonyms

phone, telephone set

Semantic network

Broader (hypernyms)
electronic equipment
Narrower (hyponyms)
radiotelephone, handset, extension, pay-phone, speakerphone, desk phone

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