telegram English · revision 1524

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=coinage, compound|attested=1852}}

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It was formed in English from [[tele-]], as in [[telegraph]], and [[-gram]],^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024)^(RHWU) from [[grc|τῆλε|tr=tēle|t=far off]] and [[m|grc|γράμμα|tr=grámma|t=something written, letter]].^(Klein 1966) 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.^(Etymonline)^(Klein 1966)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A message sent by telegraph (1852 in the OED, Barnhart and Etymonline; about 1852 in Merriam-Webster).^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The word was at first much criticized by purists,^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) some of whom argued that the correct formation from Greek would be ''telegrapheme'', the form used in modern Greek.^(Etymonline)^(Klein 1966) It nevertheless displaced ''telegraphic dispatch''.^(Etymonline) The verb, to send a telegram or to telegraph to someone, dates from 1864.^(OED 1989)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1852 – a telegraphed message.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1864 – verb, to telegraph.^(OED 1989)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A message sent by [[telegraph]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To send a telegram; to telegraph a message or a person.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[telegrammic]]

+ * [[cablegram]]

+ * [[radiotelegram]]

+ * [[fast telegram]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[telegraph]]

+ * [[cable]]

+ * [[wire]]

+ * [[-gram]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}