telegraph English · revision 10557

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1794|origins=fr télégraphe}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /ˈtel.ɪ.ɡrɑːf/, /ˈtel.ɪ.ɡræf/, US /ˈtel.ɪ.ɡræf/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|fr|télégraphe]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) from télé-, far (Greek tēle-), and -graphe, writer (see [[-graph]]), so “that which writes at a distance”.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Cresswell 2021) The French word was suggested in 1792 by the diplomat Miot de Melito to replace tachygraphe, the name proposed by Claude Chappe, coinventor of the semaphore apparatus.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A semaphore apparatus for sending messages at a distance, with movable arms on a post: 1794.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The name passed in 1797 to an experimental electric telegraph;^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989) a practical one was developed by Samuel Morse in the 1830s and widely used in the 1840s.^(Barnhart 1988) A telegraph message, a telegram, is from 1821, now obsolete,^(OED 1989) and a cricket scoreboard from 1849.^(OED 1989) The verb, to send by telegraph, is from 1805;^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) its figurative sense, to signal one's intentions, is suggested by 1867, and in boxing, to give away one's next blow, by 1925.^(Etymonline) ''Telegraphic'' is from 1794 and ''telegraphy'' from 1795.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1794 – a semaphore telegraph; telegraphic.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1797 – an electric telegraph.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1805 – to telegraph (verb).^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024)

+ * 1849 – a cricket scoreboard.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1867 – to signal intentions.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A system for sending messages over a distance by coded electrical signals along a wire, or by radio.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A message sent by telegraph; a [[telegram]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To send a message by telegraph.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To give away one's feelings or intentions by unspoken signs.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[telegrapher]]

+ * [[telegraphist]]

+ * [[pretelegraph]]

+ * [[radiotelegraph]]

+ * [[telegraphese]]

+ * [[telegraphic]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[heliograph]]

+ * [[telegram]]

+ * [[teleprinter]]

+ * [[telephone]]

+ * [[television]]

+ * [[-graph]]

+ * [[semaphore]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}