Meanings
Origin
- Proto-Indo-European*bʰeh₂-
- Proto-Hellenic*pʰōnā́
- Ancient Greekφωνή (phōnḗ)
- English-phone
From Ancient Greek φωνή (phōnḗ, “sound, voice, speech, language”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰoh₂neh₂, from *bʰeh₂- (“to speak”); related to fame and fable. Some terms ending in phone, such as textphone, are actually compounds made with phone.
More words from Ancient Greek, Proto-Indo-European
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Danish -fon, -fon
- -fontype of sound
- -fondevice that makes a sound
Dutch -foon, -foon
- -foontype of sound
- -foondevice that makes a sound
- -foonforming nouns: speaker of a certain language
French -phone, -phone
- -phonetype of sound
- -phonedevice that makes a sound
- -phoneforming adjectives: speaking a certain language
- -phoneforming nouns: speaker of a certain language
German -sprachig
- -sprachigforming adjectives: speaking a certain language
Hindi -भाषी, -भाषिणी
- -भाषी (-bhāṣī)forming adjectives: speaking a certain language
- -भाषिणी (-bhāṣiṇī)forming adjectives: speaking a certain language
- -भाषी (-bhāṣī)forming nouns: speaker of a certain language
- -भाषिणी (-bhāṣiṇī)forming nouns: speaker of a certain language
Hungarian -fón, -fon
- -fóntype of sound
- -fondevice that makes a sound
- -fónforming nouns: speaker of a certain language
- -ul/-ül beszélőforming nouns: speaker of a certain language
- ajkúforming nouns: speaker of a certain language
Italian -fono
- -fonotype of sound
Japanese 話者
- 話者 (washa)forming nouns: speaker of a certain language
Norwegian Bokmål -fon, -fon
- -fontype of sound
- -fondevice that makes a sound
Polish -fon, -fon
- -fontype of sound
- -fondevice that makes a sound
- -fonicznyforming adjectives: speaking a certain language
- -fonforming nouns: speaker of a certain language
Portuguese -fone, -fone
- -fonetype of sound
- -fonedevice that makes a sound
- -fonoforming nouns: speaker of a certain language
Cite this entry
APA
-phone. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/-phone
MLA
“-phone.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/-phone. Accessed November 2, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “-phone,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/-phone.
Source: -phone on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.