English

phone

/ˈfəʊ̯n/
A device for transmitting conversations and other sounds in real time across distances, now often a small portable unit also capable of running software etc.

    Etymology graph

    • inherited
    • borrowed
    • derived
    • parts
    • meaning component
    • sound component
    • related
    React Flow

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    Origin

    Etymology 1

    Clipping of telephone; first attested in 1884.

    Etymology 2

    From Ancient Greek φωνή (phōnḗ, “sound”).

    From Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.

    Lineage

    • derivedEnglishtelephone “A telecommunication device which converts data or sounds (usually speech) into electrical signals w…”
      • borrowedFrenchtéléphone
        • partFrenchtélé-
        • partFrench-phone
    • rootProto-Indo-European*bʰeh₂- “to speak”
    • derivedAncient Greekφωνή “sound”
      • derivedProto-Indo-European*bʰoh₂neh₂
      • prefixAncient Greekᾰ̓πο- “back”
        • derivedAncient Greekᾰ̓πό “from”
        • derivedProto-Indo-European*sóh₂wl̥ “sun”

    Sources