phone
/ˈfoʊ̯n/
Word Rarity
Common
Frequency: Zipf frequency 5.30 in modern English
10
Scrabble Score
5
Letters
1
Syllables
5
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A device for transmitting conversations and other sounds in real time across distances, now often a small portable unit also capable of running software etc.
verb
To say via telephone.
noun
A speech segment that possesses distinct physical or perceptual properties, considered as a physical event without regard to its place in the phonology of a language.
Example Sentences
- "Daragh's on the phone at the moment. He'll call you when he's finished."
- "My phone ran out of battery."
- "There's an old-fashioned phone in the doctor's waiting room - it doesn't work anymore, of course."
- "It was a clear black night, a clear white moon / Warren G was on the streets tryin' to consume / Some skirts for the eve so I can get some phones / Rollin' in my ride, chillin' all alone"
- "Phone me as soon as you land at the airport."
- "Her father told her to phone him to pick her up in case it started raining heavily."
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *kʷelh₁-der. Ancient Greek τῆλε (têle)lbor. French télé- Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂-der. Proto-Hellenic *pʰōnā́ Ancient Greek φωνή (phōnḗ)der. French -phone French téléphonebor. English telephoneclip. English phone Clipping of telephone; first attested in 1884.
Origin
- Source language: Ancient Greek
- First known use: first attested in 1884
Word Breakdown
- Root: *bʰeh₂-, φωνή
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈfoʊ̯n/
- British English: /ˈfəʊ̯n/