Added 10 October 2026
telegraph
/ˈtɛl.ɪ.ɡɹɑːf/ noun
In Latin: tēlegraphum Wiktionary
noun Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about telegraph at Wordnik → Where our words come from →
-
Synonym of telegraphy, any process for transmitting arbitrarily long messages over a long distance using a symbolic code.
This strict sense of telegraph developed from French usage for Napoleon's overland semaphore network but rather arbitrarily excludes similar Chinese and other signalling networks.
-
The electrical device gradually developed in the early 19th century to transmit messages (telegrams) using Morse code; the entire system used to transmit its messages including overhead lines and transoceanic cables.
The first message transmitted by telegraph in the United States was WHAT HATH GOD WROUGHT.
- A visible or audible cue that indicates to an opponent the action that a character is about to take.
verb
- To use a telegraph; to send a message by telegraph.
-
To clearly communicate to another nonverbally (whether by gesture, a change in attitude, or any other sign), and especially unintentionally.
Her frown telegraphed her displeasure.
Origin
Borrowed from French télégraphe, equivalent to tele- (“far, distant”) + -graph (“writing”), suggested as a new name for Claude Chappe's overland semaphore network by André François Miot de Mélito in place of Chappe's original tachygraphe (“tachygraph, fast writer”).
From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)