Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

telephoto

/tˈɛləfˌoʊtoʊ/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.53 in modern English

Syllables
tele-pho-to
IPA
/tˈɛləfˌoʊtoʊ/
14
Scrabble Score
9
Letters
4
Syllables
6
Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Of or pertaining to a lens system used to produce an enlarged image of a distant object.

noun

A photograph taken through a telephoto lens.

noun

A telephoto lens.

Colloquial

verb

Synonym of telephotograph.

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *kʷelh₁-der. Ancient Greek τῆλε (têle)lbor. English tele- Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂- Proto-Indo-European *-os Proto-Indo-European *bʰéh₂os Proto-Hellenic *pʰáwos Ancient Greek φᾰ́ος (phắos) Ancient Greek φῶς (phôs) Ancient Greek φωτο- (phōto-)der. English photo- Proto-Indo-European *gerbʰ- Proto-Hellenic *grə́pʰō Ancient Greek γράφω (gráphō) Ancient Greek -γρᾰ́φος (-grắphos)der. English -graph English photographclip. English photo English telephoto From tele- + photo.

Usage

Inflected Forms

telephotos (plural) telephotos (present, singular) telephotoing (participle, present) telephotoed (participle, past) telephotoed (past)

Derived Forms

supertelephoto

Phrases

telephoto lens

Synonyms

telephotograph

Questions

How do you pronounce telephoto?
The recorded pronunciation is /tˈɛləfˌoʊtoʊ/.
What does telephoto mean?
Of or pertaining to a lens system used to produce an enlarged image of a distant object.
Where does telephoto come from?
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *kʷelh₁-der. Ancient Greek τῆλε (têle)lbor. English tele- Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂- Proto-Indo-European *-os Proto-Indo-European *bʰéh₂os Proto-Hellenic *pʰáwos Ancient Greek φᾰ́ος (phắos) Ancient Greek φῶς (phôs) Ancient Greek φωτο- (phōto-)der. English photo- Proto-Indo-European *gerbʰ- Proto-Hellenic *grə́pʰō Ancient Greek γράφω (gráphō) Ancient Greek -γρᾰ́φος (-grắphos)der. English -graph English photographclip. English photo English telephoto From tele- + photo.

How to pronounce telephoto

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “telephoto”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/tˈɛləfˌoʊtoʊ/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “telephoto”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “telephoto” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.