semaphore line
- noun
- Archaic
:
línea de semáforo
- Before the invention of the electric telegraph, messages were often transmitted across Europe using the semaphore line.
Examples
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Engineers maintained each tower in the semaphore line to ensure signals could be relayed without interruption.
-
The semaphore line required clear weather for the signals to be visible over long distances.
-
The semaphore line was used to communicate between ships.
-
Many coastal towns relied on a semaphore line for sending messages.
-
Before the invention of the electric telegraph, messages were often transmitted across Europe using the semaphore line.
-
Engineers maintained each tower in the semaphore line to ensure signals could be relayed without interruption.
-
The semaphore line required clear weather for the signals to be visible over long distances.
Synonyms
A line of towers with moving shutters that send messages people can see over long distances
A system that sends messages over long distances using towers with moving arms or lights
How Far
- Specialized
1
4.1
- Specialized
26
2.7
- Archaic
53
4.4
- Archaic
- Specialized
22
3.7
Surface Forms
Morphology
The compound is directly compositional: 'semaphore' denotes a visual-signalling device and 'line' denotes a communication channel or series, so 'semaphore line' straightforwardly denotes a communication route or series of semaphore stations. This follows a common noun+noun compounding pattern found cross-linguistically, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents should be able to infer the meaning.
Etymology
Semaphore line: The noun semaphore line comes from old systems of tall towers that sent messages by moving arms. The word semaphore is about sending a sign and line shows the towers stood in a long row, so the picture of passing 'visual signals' from one tower to the next explains why the phrase means a system for sending messages over long distances.