téléphonie

Forms

téléphonie f (plural téléphonies)^[2]

Etymology

It is from French téléphone, or formed directly from French télé- + -phonie, on Ancient Greek τῆλε (têle, “far off”) and φωνή (phōnḗ, “sound, voice”).^[3][4][5] The TLFi gives both explanations; the Grand Robert and the Petit Robert derive it from the noun alone, and Wiktionary from the noun with the suffix -ie.^[3][6][1][2]

The English word telephony, recorded from 1835, first referred to the French term;^[3] Alexander Graham Bell took it up in 1876, after the inventor Reis, in Germany, had called the technique of his electric telephone Telephonie in 1861.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

It first named the langue musicale ou téléphonie invented by Sudre (1836), a system of signals made of musical notes.^[3][7] The GLLF and the Grand Robert date the word to 16 November 1828, in the Moniteur universel;^[4][6] the TLFi says that in that article the system was called télégraphe musical.^[3]

Semantic evolution

Sudre's method, using three notes given by bugle, drum or cannon and combined like the signals of the telegraph, was applied in the army and the navy.^[3] From there the word came to mean the art of carrying sounds or speech over a distance, recorded by Bescherelle in 1845.^[4][5]

With the electric telephone it named the technique of communication by telephone (1890 in the TLFi; 1888 in the GLLF; 1857 in the Petit Robert's dating).^[3][4][1] Téléphonie sans fil is found in Anatole France in 1905.^[3] Rey observes that the derivatives of téléphone stayed tied to fixed telephones and to the techniques before computing.^[7]

Timeline

• 1828 – The Moniteur universel writes of Sudre's musical signals.^[4][6]
• 1836 – Langue musicale ou téléphonie, invented by Sudre.^[3][7]
• 1845 – Bescherelle records the sense “transmission of speech over a distance”.^[4]
• 1890 – The supplement to Larousse's dictionary records the technique of the electric telephone.^[3][7]
• 1905 – Téléphonie sans fil in Anatole France.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. (technical) The technique of transmitting sound, especially speech, over a distance: téléphonie mobile, téléphonie sans fil.^[1][3][4]
2. (technical) The body of knowledge and techniques concerning the telephone: une ingénieure en téléphonie.^[1][4]
3. (historical) Sudre's system of signals by musical sounds.^[3][5]

Word family

• radiotéléphonie

Related words

• téléphone
• téléphoner
• téléphoniste
• télégraphie
• English telephony

References

1. ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
2. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n 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
4. ^ a b c d e f g h Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
5. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
6. ^ a b c Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
7. ^ a b c d Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert