phototelegraph

9.9

A machine that sends pictures over wires to another place

noun
/ˌfoʊtəʊˈtɛlɪɡræf/

Archaic

: fototelegráfico

The newspaper office used a phototelegraph to send press photos across the country.

Examples

Early phototelegraphs revolutionized the transmission of images long before the rise of fax machines.
Engineers demonstrated the phototelegraph at the world exhibition, impressing visitors with its capabilities.
The phototelegraph revolutionized communication in the early 20th century.
Have you ever seen a phototelegraph in action?
The newspaper office used a phototelegraph to send press photos across the country.
Early phototelegraphs revolutionized the transmission of images long before the rise of fax machines.
Engineers demonstrated the phototelegraph at the world exhibition, impressing visitors with its capabilities.

Synonyms

electrograph

vsphototelegraph

Archaic

9.9

A machine that sends pictures over wires like an early fax

is limited to transmission by telegraphy rather than by all electrical means

Surface Forms

phototelegraph singular

phototelegraphs plural

Morphology

phototelegraph = telegraph (semi-transparent) = photo + tele + graph

The word is built by adding photo- to telegraph, but the exact technical device sense is somewhat specialized rather than fully predictable for a learner.

Etymology

Phototelegraph joins photo- ('light' or 'picture') with tele- ('far') and -graph ('write'), the same parts you see in photograph and telegraph. So a phototelegraph is a machine for 'sending pictures over a distance', which explains why it means a device that transmits photographs by telegraph.