English Explanatory Dictionary

telephone

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. 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.
  2. Short for telephone call (“a connection established over a telephone network; a conversation held by the parties on this connection”).
  3. A means of communicating information from one person to another or others.
  4. Now chiefly preceded by a descriptive word: a simple communication device which converts sounds (usually speech) into mechanical vibrations along a string, wire, etc.
  5. 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.
  6. 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.
  7. A system of communication using musical notes, also known as Solresol, invented in 1828 by the French composer Jean-François Sudre (1787–1862).
  8. 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”).
verb
  1. To convey (information, a message, news, etc.) using a telephone (noun sense 1).
  2. To (attempt to) contact (someone) using a telephone.
  3. To provide (a place) with a telephone system.
  4. To transmit (sounds) over a distance.
  5. To (attempt to) contact someone using a telephone; to make a telephone call.

Pronunciation

/ˈtɛlɪfəʊn/ /ˈtɛləˌfoʊn/ [ˈtɛɫ-] En-us-telephone.ogg [ˈteɫəˌfəʉn] [ˈteɫəˌfɐʉn] /ˈtɛlɪfon/ /ˈtɛlɪfoːn/

Word forms

telephone telephones telephoning telephoned

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.

Synonyms

Ameche blower dog and bone horn phone pipe telephone Chinese whispers call call up dial up drop a line get on the horn give someone a bell give someone a buzz give someone a call give someone a jingle give someone a ring give someone a tinkle ring ring up drop someone a line

Derived words

antitelephone big white telephone broken telephone Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen telephone EPR telephone Everett-Wheeler telephone on the telephone phone plain old telephone service post office telephone system premium-rate telephone number pretelephone talk to God on the big white telephone talk to Ralph on the big white telephone telco telemarketing telephone alphabet telephone answering machine telephone-bell telephone book telephone booth telephone box telephone call telephone card telephone conference telephone desk telephone directory telephone exchange telephone game telephone girl telephone jack telephone kiosk telephoneless telephonelike telephone line telephone number telephone operator telephone pole telephone ring telephone scatologia telephone sex telephone shower telephone tag telephone typewriter telephonic telephonicate telephonist telephonitis telephonology telephonophile telephonophobia telephonophobic telephony telethon thermotelephone Tucker telephone untelephoned white-telephone white telephone telephonable

Translations

Albanian: telefonoj Arabic: تَلْفَنَ Armenian: զանգել Armenian: զանգահարել Armenian: հեռաձայնել Azerbaijani: zəng etmək Azerbaijani: zəng vurmaq Belarusian: тэлефанава́ць Belarusian: патэлефанава́ць Belarusian: звані́ць Belarusian: пазвані́ць Bengali: টেলিফোন করা Breton: pellgomz Bulgarian: телефони́рам Bulgarian: оба́ждам се Bulgarian: оба́дя се Burmese: ဖုန်းဆက် Catalan: telefonar Catalan: cridar Catalan: trucar Cherokee: ᎦᎸᏛᏂᎭ Chinese Mandarin: 打電話 /打电话 Crimean Tatar: telefon etmek Czech: telefonovat Czech: zatelefonovat Czech: volat Czech: zavolat Danish: ringe Danish: telefonere Dutch: telefoneren Dutch: bellen Dutch: opbellen Esperanto: telefoni Esperanto: alvoki Estonian: helistama Finnish: soittaa (puhelimella) French: téléphoner French: appeler Galician: telefonar Georgian: დარეკვა German: telefonieren German: anrufen Greek: τηλεφωνώ Greek: καλώ Hebrew: צילצל \ צִלְצֵל Hindi: फ़ोन करना Hungarian: telefonál Icelandic: hringja Icelandic: hringja í Ido: telefonar Indonesian: menelepon Indonesian: memanggil Italian: telefonare Japanese: 電話をかける Japanese: 電話する Kazakh: телефон соғу Kazakh: қоңырау шалу Khmer: និយាយទូរសព្ទ Korean: 전화를 걸다 Korean: 전화하다 Northern Kurdish: telefon kirin Kyrgyz: шыңгыратуу Lao: ຕີເຕເລໂຟນ Latvian: telefonēt Latvian: piezvanīt Latvian: zvanīt Lithuanian: telefonuoti Lithuanian: skambinti
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