Meanings
plural telegraph posts
- A pole, usually wooden, that carries telephone lines above a street.
Here the protection consists of a 50lb per mile cadmium copper trip-wire mounted on short telegraph posts on both sides of the line, 4ft above rail level.
1961 November, “Talking of Trains: Aircraft on rail tracks”, in Trains Illustrated, page 650Synonyms: telegraph pole, telephone pole, utility pole
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA pole, usually wooden, that carries telephone lines above a street.
More synonyms by meaning
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
From their original purpose of carrying telegraph lines, first used around 1843 by William Fothergill Cooke.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Arabic عَمُود البَرِيد
- عَمُود البَرِيد (ʕamūd al-barīd)pole that carries telephone lines
Bulgarian телеграфен стълб
- телеграфен стълб (telegrafen stălb)pole that carries telephone lines
Chinese Mandarin 電線桿 /电线杆
- 電線桿 /电线杆 (diànxiàngǎn)pole that carries telephone lines
Finnish puhelinpylväs
- puhelinpylväspole that carries telephone lines
French poteau télégraphique
- poteau télégraphiquepole that carries telephone lines
German Telegraphenmast, Leitungsmast
- Telegraphenmastpole that carries telephone lines
- Leitungsmastpole that carries telephone lines
Italian palo del telegrafo
- palo del telegrafopole that carries telephone lines
Japanese 電柱
- 電柱 (denchū)pole that carries telephone lines
Russian телегра́фный столб
- телегра́фный столб (telegráfnyj stolb)pole that carries telephone lines
Cite this entry
telegraph post. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/telegraph%20post
“telegraph post.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/telegraph%20post. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “telegraph post,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/telegraph%20post.
Source: telegraph post on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.