telegraph
pronunciation
How to pronounce telegraph in British English:
UK [ˈtelɪɡrɑːf]
How to pronounce telegraph in American English:
US [ˈtelɪɡræf]
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- Noun:
- apparatus used to communicate at a distance over a wire (usually in Morse code)
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- Verb:
- send cables, wires, or telegrams
Word Origin
- telegraph (n.)
- 1794, "semaphor apparatus" (hence the Telegraph Hill in many cities), literally "that which writes at a distance," from French télégraphe, from télé- "far" (from Greek tele-; see tele-) + -graphe (see -graphy). The signaling device had been invented in France in 1791 by the brothers Chappe, who had called it tachygraphe, literally "that which writes fast," but the better name was suggested to them by French diplomat Comte André-François Miot de Mélito (1762-1841). First applied 1797 to an experimental electric telegraph (designed by Dr. Don Francisco Salva at Barcelona); the practical version was developed 1830s by U.S. inventor Samuel F.B. Morse (1791-1872). Meaning "telegraphic message" is from 1821. Related: Telegraphy.
- telegraph (v.)
- 1805, from telegraph (n.). Figurative meaning "to signal one's intentions" is first attested 1925, originally in boxing. Related: Telegraphed; telegraphing.
Example
- 1. Later , edison became a telegraph operator for western union .
- 2. We 're delighted to have crash-landed on telegraph blogs .
- 3. The telegraph was the precursor to telex and fax machines .
- 4. Serious men knew that what really mattered was better telegraph technology .
- 5. Thanks to edison , people were then able to send several telegraph messages simultaneously .