handsetn.2
/ˈhan(d)sɛt/, U.S. /ˈhæn(d)ˌsɛt/ 1. The part of a telephone that is held in the hand; spec. a hand-held telephone or radiotelegraphy unit in which microphone and earpiece are combined. Cf. headset n. 2.Recorded earliest in telephone handset n. at telephone n. Compounds 1b(b).
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > telecommunication > telegraphy or telephony > telephony > telephone equipment > [noun] > telephone
telephone instrument1844
telephone1864
phone1884
telephone set1884
set?1891
tubec1899
handset1901
blower1922
the horn1945
satellite telephone1961
dog1979
satellite phone1982
1901 U.S. Patent 673,039 9/2 The apparatus whereby a signal is transmitted to a distance by the weight of the telephone hand set when placed on the switch-hook.
1905 Telephone Mag. Mar. 207/2 The Lambert Schmidt Telephone Manufacturing Company..has recently secured a large order from the war department... Two hundred wall sets, 75 emplacement sets, 50 portable sets, 50 desk sets, 100 head sets, 100 hand sets, 200 breast sets, [etc.].
1911 Pop. Mech. Oct. 465/2 It [sc. an autophone] consists of two parts, the hand set that comprises the transmitter and receiver, and a ringer box containing the buzzer, magnets, condenser, [etc.].
1955 ‘N. Shute’ Requiem for Wren 283 They repeated it and booked the call, and I put down the handset.
1977 C. Thomas Firefox (1978) ix. 241 He could hear the figure,..only given a tent-like shape by the parka it was wearing, talking into an R/T handset.
1990 Meridian (Midland Group) Spring 39 The MT4 is..much more powerful than the normal handset-only mobiles, it can be used both in the car as a dedicated unit, or, once extracted, as a mobile with two-hour battery life.
2010 Ideal Home May 183 Corded or cordless, retro or ultra-modern, the latest handsets make picking up the phone a pleasure.
2. A hand-held device for operating a television or other electronic appliance at a distance; = remote control n. 2b. Frequently with preceding modifying word or words.
ΚΠ
1969 Pop. Sci June 146/2 There are bins at either end of the projector recess for storing such items as the power cord and remote-control handset.
1983 Christian Sci. Monitor (Nexis) 9 June 8 In my home in Surrey stands a 16-inch color TV set... I picked up a remote-control handset the size of a pocket calculator.
1998 N. Beer Servicing Satellite TV Equipm. xi. 117/1 The cost of replacement handsets has, on average, declined in recent years.
2005 Guardian (Nexis) 27 Aug. 16 Innovations include allowing ITV digital viewers to choose their numbers through their television handset.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2013; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
handsetadj.n.1
/ˈhan(d)ˌsɛt/, U.S. /ˈhæn(d)ˌsɛt/ Of type: set by hand; (of printed material) produced by setting type by hand. Also as n.: handset type.
ΚΠ
1887 U.S. Patent 364,525 1/2 The advantages to be derived from copying as many of the conditions of such hand-set type as possible is manifest.
1908 Daily Chron. 23 Oct. 9/4 There being wheels not only for spacing but for all sorts of heading and advertisement type, all hand-set becomes unnecessary.
1928 Pop. Mech. Apr. 60/1 (advt.) 2000 handset letterheads, fine white watermarked heavy bond.
1971 L. G. Dorsett Audio-visual Teaching Machines vi. 64 A professional job can be done with..hand-set or linotype-set standard type.
2011 St. Petersburg (Florida) Times (Nexis) 12 June 36 (caption) Barry uses a handset type for hot foil stamping.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2013; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
<
n.21901adj.n.11887