telegraph
A telegraph is a long-distance communication system that sends messages through wires or cables. It was used before the internet and phones.
Think about sending a message to someone who lives far away. You might write it down on paper, put it in an envelope, and mail it. A telegraph worked kind of like this, but with electricity instead of the postal service. When you wanted to send a message, you'd go to a telegraph office and give your words to an operator. They would translate them into a series of dots and dashes that could be sent through wires as electrical signals. The other person's end of the system would receive these signals and translate them back into plain language. It was a way for people to communicate over long distances before modern technology made it easier.
Note: In some contexts, "telegraph" can also refer to the device or machine that sends and receives messages in this way.
How common is "telegraph"?
It has a balanced usage among all categories: speech, fiction, newspapers and academic texts.
noun
An apparatus, or a process, for communicating rapidly between distant points, especially by means of established visible or audible signals representing words or ideas, or by means of words and signs, transmitted by electrical means.
verb
To send a message by telegraph.
Real examples of "telegraph" in context
