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Glite Dictionary
Alexander Bell

Alexander Bell

6 5.2
A Scottish-born inventor who created the first practical telephone
  • proper noun
  • /ˈælɪɡˌzændər bɛl/
: Alexander Bell
  • Many students write reports on the life and work of Alexander Bell.

Examples

  • The achievements of Alexander Bell continue to inspire scientists and inventors around the world.

  • The famous inventor Alexander Bell changed communication forever.

  • Alexander Bell revolutionized communication with his invention of the telephone in 1876.

  • Did Alexander Bell really invent the telephone?

  • The telephone was invented by Alexander Graham Bell in 1875 and patented by him the next year.

  • After inventing the telephone in 1876, Alexander Graham Bell described it as a broadcasting instrument that would perhaps provide 'music on tap.'

  • Scottish-born Alexander Graham Bell offered to sell his patent on the telephone to Western Union in 1876 for a flat $100,000.

Surface Forms

Alexander Bell main

Morphology

Alexander + Bell

This is a proper name referring to a specific historical person; the meaning 'the inventor of the telephone' cannot be derived from the literal constituents 'Alexander' and 'bell'. Proper names are arbitrary and non-compositional, so even learners who know the individual words would not predict the biographical identity without prior exposure.

Etymology

Alexander Bell was a Scottish man who moved to America and who invented the telephone in 1876. Picture him speaking into a simple wooden device and hearing a voice far away, and that's why his name is known for 'inventing the telephone'.