Telephone

What “Telephone” means

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.

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.

Where the word comes from

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 ver

Business name ideas with “Telephone”

Industries where “Telephone” fits

We suggest this word for 2 business types and industries, including:

• Telephone Answering Services
• Telephone Apparatus Manufacturing