Samuel F. B. Morse

1 6.8

An American painter and inventor who invented the telegraph and created Morse code

proper noun
/ˈsæm.ju.əl ɛf bi ˈmɔrs/

: Samuel F. B. Morse

The development of Morse code by Samuel F. B. Morse had a profound impact on global communication.

Examples

Samuel F. B. Morse revolutionized communication with his invention of the telegraph.
Many museums feature paintings by Samuel F. B. Morse, who was also an accomplished artist.
The inventor Samuel F. B. Morse changed communication forever.
Samuel F. B. Morse was also a talented portrait painter.
Samuel F. B. Morse revolutionized communication with his invention of the telegraph.
The development of Morse code by Samuel F. B. Morse had a profound impact on global communication.
Samuel F. B. Morse was also a talented portrait painter.

Surface Forms

Samuel F. B. Morse main

Morphology

Samuel + F. + B. + Morse

This is a proper name (a person) rather than a compositional phrase: knowing the constituent names or initials ('Samuel', 'F.', 'B.', 'Morse') does not let a B1 learner deduce the biographical meaning (inventor, telegraph, Morse code). Proper names are arbitrary labels cross-linguistically and do not transparently convey the factual information in the provided definition, so the meaning is not derivable from the parts.

Etymology

Samuel F. B. Morse was an American painter who became an inventor and helped create the 'telegraph'. He also made the system of 'dots and dashes' we call 'Morse code', so his name is used when we talk about early long-distance messages.