dial
pronunciation
How to pronounce dial in British English:
UK [ˈdaɪəl]
How to pronounce dial in American English:
US [ˈdaɪəl]
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- Noun:
- the face of a timepiece; graduated to show the hours
- the control on a radio or television set that is used for tuning
- the circular graduated indicator on various measuring instruments
- a disc on a telephone that is rotated a fixed distance for each number called
-
- Verb:
- operate a dial to select a telephone number
- choose by means of a dial
Word Origin
- dial
- dial: [15] The original application of the word dial in English is ‘sundial’. The evidence for its prehistory is patchy, but it is generally presumed to have come from medieval Latin diālis ‘daily’, a derivative of Latin diēs ‘day’, the underlying notion being that it records the passage of a 24- hour period.
- dial (n.)
- early 15c., "sundial," earlier "dial of a compass" (mid-14c.), apparently from Medieval Latin dialis "daily," from Latin dies "day" (see diurnal). The word perhaps was abstracted from a phrase such as Medieval Latin rota dialis "daily wheel," and evolved to mean any round plate over which something rotates. Telephone sense is from 1879, which led to dial tone (1921), "the signal to begin dialing," which term soon might be the sole relic of the rotary phone.
- dial (v.)
- 1650s, "to work with aid of a dial or compass," from dial (n.). Telephone sense is from 1923. Related: Dialed; dialing.
Example
- 1. So the company has turned up the dial on its link-removal machine .
- 2. You don 't have to cook , but keep your local takeaway on speed dial .
- 3. You can also program speed dial numbers and add more features by downloading other apps .
- 4. When you dial it , an android answers .
- 5. Dial 999 for an ambulance .