telegram

Etymology

It was formed in English from tele-, as in telegraph, and -gram,^[1][2][3][4] from Ancient Greek τῆλε (tēle, “far off”) and γράμμα (grámma, “something written, letter”).^[5] According to Bartlett's 1859 edition it was coined by E. Peshine Smith of Rochester, New York, and introduced in the Albany “Evening Journal” of 6 April 1852.^[2][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

A message sent by telegraph (1852 in the OED, Barnhart and Etymonline; about 1852 in Merriam-Webster).^[6][1][2][7]

Semantic evolution

The word was at first much criticized by purists,^[6][2] some of whom argued that the correct formation from Greek would be telegrapheme, the form used in modern Greek.^[2][5] It nevertheless displaced telegraphic dispatch.^[2] The verb, to send a telegram or to telegraph to someone, dates from 1864.^[6][7]

Timeline

• 1852 – a telegraphed message.^[6][1][2]
• 1864 – verb, to telegraph.^[6][7]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A message sent by telegraph.

Verb

1. To send a telegram; to telegraph a message or a person.

Word family

• telegrammic
• cablegram
• radiotelegram
• fast telegram

Related words

• telegraph
• cable
• wire
• -gram

References

1. ^ a b c Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
2. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
5. ^ a b c Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
6. ^ a b c d e Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster