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Telephone
Definitions
- 1 A telecommunication device (originally mechanical, and now electronic) used for two-way talking with another person (now often shortened to phone). countable
- 2 electronic equipment that converts sound into electrical signals that can be transmitted over distances and then converts received signals back into sounds wordnet
- 3 The receiver of such a device. countable, historical
- 4 transmitting speech at a distance wordnet
- 5 The game of Chinese whispers. Canada, US, uncountable
"And since the spring of 1995, no game of telephone has ended without some Simpsons-loving smart-ass dropping “purple monkey dishwasher” into the chain."
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- 6 Chinese whispers; a situation in which an initial message has been distorted and misunderstood by being passed from person to person. Canada, US, figuratively, uncountable
"In other words, Jones' career and life may have been derailed because a game of telephone went bad."
- 1 To (attempt to) contact someone using a telephone. ambitransitive
"“I came down like a wolf on the fold, didn’t I ? Why didn’t I telephone ? Strategy, my dear boy, strategy. This is a surprise attack, and I’d no wish that the garrison, forewarned, should escape. …”"
- 2 get or try to get into communication (with someone) by telephone wordnet
- 3 To convey (a message) via telephone. transitive
"He telephoned what he knew to his chief[.]"
Etymology
First used by Alexander Graham Bell in 1876 to refer to the modern instrument, but previous devices had been given this name, which was borrowed from French téléphone. Ultimately from Ancient Greek τῆλε (têle, “afar”) + φωνή (phōnḗ, “voice, sound”).
First used by Alexander Graham Bell in 1876 to refer to the modern instrument, but previous devices had been given this name, which was borrowed from French téléphone. Ultimately from Ancient Greek τῆλε (têle, “afar”) + φωνή (phōnḗ, “voice, sound”).
See also for "telephone"
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Unscramble this word: telephone