telephony

T1E1L1E1P3H4O1N1Y4
UK/təˈlɛf.ə.ni/

noun

The act of sound transmission via the electromagnetic spectrum.

Similar
telephone
OriginEnglish telephone ← French téléphone ← Ancient Greek φωνή (phōnḗ) →
CommonScrabble 17
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Meanings

nountelephony (usually uncountable, plural telephonies)

plural telephonies

  1. uncountableusuallyThe act of sound transmission via the electromagnetic spectrum.
  2. uncountableusuallyThe study and application of telephone technology.

Synonyms & antonyms

nountransmitting speech at a distance

Similar
telephone
Broader
telecommunicationtelecom
Also see
telephone

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*kʷelh₁-
  2. Ancient Greekτῆλε (têle)
  3. Frenchtélé-
  4. Proto-Indo-European*bʰeh₂-
  5. Proto-Hellenic*pʰōnā́
  6. Ancient Greekφωνή (phōnḗ)
  7. Frenchtéléphone
  8. Englishtelephone
  9. Englishtelephony

From telephone + -y.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Catalan telefonia
  • telefoniaact of sound transmission via the electromagnetic spectrum
Danish telefoni
  • telefoniact of sound transmission via the electromagnetic spectrum
Dutch telefonie
  • telefonieact of sound transmission via the electromagnetic spectrum
Finnish puhelintekniikka
  • puhelintekniikkaact of sound transmission via the electromagnetic spectrum
German Telefonie, Fernsprechwesen
  • Telefonieact of sound transmission via the electromagnetic spectrum
  • Fernsprechwesenact of sound transmission via the electromagnetic spectrum
Greek τηλεφωνία
  • τηλεφωνία (tilefonía)act of sound transmission via the electromagnetic spectrum
Irish teileafónaíocht
  • teileafónaíochtact of sound transmission via the electromagnetic spectrum
Italian telefonia
  • telefoniaact of sound transmission via the electromagnetic spectrum
Latin tēlephōnia
  • tēlephōniaact of sound transmission via the electromagnetic spectrum
Latvian telefonija
  • telefonijaact of sound transmission via the electromagnetic spectrum
Norwegian Bokmål telefoni
  • telefoniact of sound transmission via the electromagnetic spectrum
Polish telefonia
  • telefoniaact of sound transmission via the electromagnetic spectrum
Portuguese telefonia
  • telefoniaact of sound transmission via the electromagnetic spectrum
Romanian telefonie
  • telefonieact of sound transmission via the electromagnetic spectrum
Russian телефони́я
  • телефони́я (telefoníja)act of sound transmission via the electromagnetic spectrum
Spanish telefonía
  • telefoníaact of sound transmission via the electromagnetic spectrum
Swedish telefoni
  • telefoniact of sound transmission via the electromagnetic spectrum

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

polythene
Cite this entry
APA

telephony. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/telephony

MLA

“telephony.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/telephony. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “telephony,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/telephony.

Source: telephony on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.