Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
📺 A TV set ↔️ Distance prefix
tele

tele

5.1
A word part that means far away, used in words like telephone
  • other
  • /ˈtɛli/
  • Specialized
translation icon : tele-
  • The prefix tele appears in words like 'telephone' and 'television', both involving communication over distance.

Examples

  • In 'telegraph', the tele part means messages are sent over long distances.

  • You can find tele in the word 'telemedicine', indicating healthcare services provided from afar.

  • When you see tele at the start of a word, it often relates to something far away.

  • The term television refers to watching programs at a distance.

  • I love using my telephone to talk to friends.

  • The prefix tele is commonly found in words such as 'teleconference', which involves meetings held over distances.

  • Words like television show how distance affects how we see and experience media.

Synonyms

tele-
vstele
  • Specialized
3.7

A prefix meaning far away used to make words about distance or communication

is the same meaning but written without a hyphen

Surface Forms

tele main

Etymology

Tele is a prefix that comes from a Greek word meaning 'far' or 'at a distance'. You can see it in words like telephone and television, and it tells you that something works over distance.