telephone
/ˈteləˌfəʊn/TEH-luh-fohn
/ˈtɛləˌfoʊn/TEH-luh-fohn
Meaningfar-off sound
Common meaning: a device for talking to someone far away
- telefar offLiddell & Scott, Intermediate Greek-English Lexicon (1889), p. 804 · scan
- phonvoice, soundLiddell & Scott, Intermediate Greek-English Lexicon (1889), p. 877 · scan
‘far off’ + ‘voice, sound’ → telephone
Journey through time
Neither part’s path through time is traced in our sources yet; each root is shown from its dictionary entry.
- tele — Ancient Greek τῆλε (têle) “far off” (dictionary form; path not traced)
- phon — Ancient Greek φωνή (phōnḗ) “voice, sound” (dictionary form; path not traced)
Sources & notes
Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.
Pronunciation
- UK IPA: converted from the US form by rule (unchecked). Respelling: generated.
- No UK recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-GB voice.
- US IPA: CMUdict (BSD-2), converted to IPA by rule. Respelling: generated.
- No US recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-US voice.
Origin: Built on Ancient Greek τῆλε (têle) ‘far off’ + Ancient Greek φωνή (phōnḗ) ‘voice, sound’.
Did you know: our wording, based on Liddell & Scott, Intermediate Greek-English Lexicon (1889), entry φωνή (phōnḗ), p. 877 · dictionary scan
Roots
- τῆλε (têle) Ancient Greek “far off”
- φωνή (phōnḗ) Ancient Greek “voice, sound”
Related words
telegramtelegraphtelepathytelephototelescopetelevisioncacophonyhomophonemegaphonemicrophonephonologysymphony
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