optical telegraph
- noun
- Archaic
:
telégrafo óptico
- Messages could be sent rapidly across the country using a network of optical telegraph towers.
Examples
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The Chappe brothers invented the first practical optical telegraph in France in the late 18th century.
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Before electricity, armies often relied on the optical telegraph for battlefield communication.
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The optical telegraph was revolutionary in its time.
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Many countries used the optical telegraph for communication.
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Before electricity, armies often relied on the optical telegraph for battlefield communication.
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Messages could be sent rapidly across the country using a network of optical telegraph towers.
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The Chappe brothers invented the first practical optical telegraph in France in the late 18th century.
Synonyms
A way to send visible messages over long distances using towers with moving arms
A line of towers with moving shutters that send messages people can see over long distances
A tower with moving arms that shows messages to people far away
How Fast
- Archaic
- Archaic
- Specialized
7
4.8
Surface Forms
Morphology
The compound combines 'optical' (related to light/vision) with 'telegraph' (a system for sending messages), so a B1 learner who knows both words can infer it means a telegraph that uses visual or light signals. While 'telegraph' often evokes wired Morse systems, the modifier 'optical' clearly specifies the medium; this compositional logic is common cross-linguistically and therefore readily comprehensible.
Etymology
The optical telegraph was an old system that sent messages by sight: lines of towers with big moving arms or flags that people watched from tower to tower. The name comes from optical (meaning 'seen with the eye') and telegraph (meaning 'message at a distance'), so that's why it means a system for sending messages using visual signals.