# telephone

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈtɛl.ɪˌfəʊn/ · frequency rank #3,587

## Definitions
1. A telecommunication device (originally mechanical, and now electronic) used for two-way talking with another person (now often shortened to phone).
2. The receiver of such a device.
3. The game of Chinese whispers.
4. Chinese whispers; a situation in which an initial message has been distorted and misunderstood by being passed from person to person.

## Etymology
First used by Alexander Graham Bell in 1876 to refer to the modern instrument, but previous devices had been given this name, which was borrowed from French téléphone. Ultimately from Ancient Greek τῆλε (têle, “afar”) + φωνή (phōnḗ, “voice, sound”).

## Easily confused with
- **telephony** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/telephone-vs-telephony)

## Common misspellings (13)
`etlephone`, `teelphone`, `telehpone`, `telephhone`, `telephnoe`, `telephoen`, `telephonne`, `telepohne`, `telepphone`, `tellephone`, `telpehone`, `tleephone`, `ttelephone`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/telephone