telegraph post
- noun
- /ˈtɛlɪˌɡræf poʊst/
:
poste telegráfico
- The workers installed new wires on the old telegraph post to improve communication.
Examples
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'I stared out of that carriage window into the dark 'and watched the dim trees and the telegraph posts go by, 'and through them I saw Alec and me.
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As we drove down the highway, we passed several telegraph posts standing tall beside the road.
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The telegraph post swayed in the wind, holding up the lines that connected the town to the rest of the country.
Synonyms
99
1.0
A long pole set upright in the ground to support or mark
17
2.0
A tall wooden or concrete post that holds telephone wires above the ground
1
4.1
A tall wooden or metal post that holds telephone wires above the ground
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is a straightforward composition of 'telegraph' (relating to telegraph wires) and 'post' (an upright stake for support); a learner who knows both words can easily infer it denotes a pole supporting telegraph/telephone wires. This construction is compositional and cross-linguistically common, so it should be immediately comprehensible to a B1 learner.
Etymology
Telegraph post comes from a simple picture: people set tall wooden posts beside roads to carry telegraph wires high above the ground. So, it means 'a tall pole that holds telegraph or telephone wires'.