telegram
87
6.9
- noun
- /ˈtɛlɪˌɡræm/
- Archaic
:
telegrama
- Three weeks later, Sweeney's father receives his son's letter along with a telegram from the United States War Department.
- send a telegram
- receive a telegram
- letters and telegrams
When am I going to receive a a telegram from you?
- When am I going to receive a a telegram from you?
- And then you open up another and it's a pile of like, telegram love letters from Frank Sinatra.
Examples
-
On August 15, 1858, Queen Victoria sent a telegram to President Buchanan.
Academic text (2011) -
I sent a telegram begging her to come home.
-
But his private doctor was very concerned and sent a telegram to his chief of staff.
-
So every time you saw someone get a telegram in some old movie, there it was.
-
I have a telegram for you.
-
I had a telegram last night... from the manager of the Grand Hotel.
-
It's a telegram from Washington hospital.
-
But when I got that telegram saying he was wounded, I went upstairs and read those letters.
Academic text (2017) -
News that Ellis had been wounded arrived in a telegram the week after the Armistice was signed.
Fiction book (1992) -
She received an urgent telegram notifying her of her father's illness.
Synonyms
∞
1.0
A short note or text someone sends to give information
338
1.0
A short written message sent by phone or app
203
1.0
Messages sent or received over the internet
117
7.3
A short message sent by telegram
14
8.1
A formal letter that gives important information
1
7.6
A typed message sent and printed over long distances
A cheaper written message sent abroad and delivered the next day
A telegram sent at night to arrive the next day for less money
A short message sent quickly to someone in another country
Compounds
How Fast
Surface Forms
Morphology
telegram = tele + gram
The word is built from classical elements meaning 'far' and 'written message', but the specific telegraph-era sense is not fully predictable for many learners.
Etymology
Telegram comes from the Greek parts tele- 'far' and -gram 'writing', so it literally means a 'writing from far away'. That's why a telegram was a short paper message sent by telegraph to bring news quickly over long distances.