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téléphoner

Etymology and origin of the French word téléphoner

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1883, Albert Robida, Le Vingtième Siècle
Ultimate origin
Ancient Greek (τῆλε,φωνή)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
French téléphone
English telephone
French téléphoner

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /te.le.fɔ.ne/[1]

Forms

téléphoner[1]

Etymology

It is from French téléphone + -er.[2][3][4][1] The English verb is recorded from 1878.[2] téléphone was first a French coinage (1809) from Ancient Greek τῆλε (têle, “far off”) and φωνή (phōnḗ, “sound, voice”), on the model of télégraphe; it was later applied to Reis's apparatus (German Telefon, 1861) and, from 1876, taken from English telephone, the name of Bell's invention.[2][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Albert Robida's Le Vingtième Siècle (1883) has téléphoner à quelqu'un de (do something), “to tell someone by telephone to”.[2][4]

Semantic evolution

Alphonse Daudet (1885, Tartarin sur les Alpes) uses it without an object, “to make a telephone call”, Courteline (1893) has it transitively, “to send by telephone”, and the past participle télégramme téléphoné is recorded in 1892.[2][4] The reciprocal se téléphoner appears in Maurois (1928).[2] Sports writers used téléphoné (1937) for a blow or attack that is too easily foreseen, after télégraphier in the same sense (1909); c'est téléphoné now means “that's too predictable”.[2][4]

Timeline

  • 1809 – téléphone coined in French.[2]
  • 1878 – English to telephone.[2]
  • 1883 – Téléphoner à quelqu'un de, Robida.[2]
  • 1885 – “To make a call”, Daudet.[2]
  • 1893 – Transitive, Courteline.[2]
  • 1928 – Se téléphoner, Maurois.[2]
  • 1937 – Attaques téléphonées, in L'Auto.[2]

Meanings

Verb

  1. (intransitive) To telephone, call, ring: téléphoner à quelqu'un, téléphone-moi demain.[4][1]
  2. (transitive) To communicate by telephone: téléphoner une nouvelle à quelqu'un.[4][6]
  3. Se téléphoner: to call each other.[4][2]
  4. (figurative, sport) To telegraph, make obvious in advance, c'est téléphoné, it is all too predictable.[4][1]

Word family

  • retéléphoner

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
  3. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  5. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  6. ^ Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
Cite this entry

“Téléphoner.” Etymologically, 18 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/t%C3%A9l%C3%A9phoner. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·