telegraphn.
/ˈtɛlᵻɡrɑːf/, /ˈtɛlᵻɡraf/, U.S. /ˈtɛləˌɡræf/ 1.
a. Any of various devices designed to convey messages over a distance using visible or audible signs or signals; cf. semaphore n. 1. Also (esp. in early use): a network of such devices. Now historical.Although devices for this purpose have been used since ancient times (see sense 1b), the word telegraph was first applied to the semaphoric device invented by Claude Chappe in France in 1792, which consisted of an upright post with movable arms, the signals being made by positioning the arms according to a prearranged code. The term has been applied subsequently to devices which convey messages by various other means, including movable disks, flashes of light, sounds of bells or horns, etc.
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society > communication > indication > signalling > visual signalling > semaphore > [noun] > apparatus
telegraph1793
tellograph1796
semaphore1815
semaphore signal1826
shutter-telegraph1859
bell-telegrapha1877
1793 Times 12 Aug. M. Chappe, after many years study, and a great variety of experiments, has invented a Telegraphe, in the form of an oblong parallelogram.
1794 European Mag. & London Rev. Sept. 166/2 The plan of this Telegraphe is said to be by beacons on heights, at the distance of 12 or 15 miles from each other.
1813 J. W. Croker in L. J. Jennings Croker Papers (1884) I. ii. 53 The Plymouth telegraph announces another complete victory of Lord W. over Soult on the 30th.
1863 W. Ladd in Rep. Brit. Assoc. Advancem. Sci. 19 On an Acoustic Telegraph.
1915 Jrnl. Electr. Workers & Operators June 367/2 In the military use of the optical telegraph, we had the beginnings of state ownership.
1984 A. Cameron Scenes from Sea & City 273/1 By the shore shutter telegraph system it then took only four minutes to reach the Admiralty.
2006 D. G. Schwartz Roll Bones ix. 205 The Blancs hit upon..the idea of using the French government's optical telegraph or télégraphe aerien to receive advance information.
b. Used retrospectively of any of various similar devices used or proposed in earlier periods. historical.
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1794 R. Edwards Let. 12 Sept. in Oracle & Public Advertiser 15 Sept. The Telegraphe..is two thousand years old, and..the present is no more than an improvement, by means of the Telescope and reflecting glasses, on Polybius's plan.
1794 Oracle & Public Advertiser 13 Sept. The Telegraphe was originally the invention of William Amontons, a very ingenious philosopher, born in Normandy, in the year 1663... This philosopher..pointed out a method, to acquaint people at a great distance, and in a very little time, with whatever one pleased.
1808 J. Macdonald Treat. Telegr. Communication 37 Julius Africanus minutely details a mode of spelling words by a Telegraph. It appears, that fires of various substances, were the means made use of.
1842 Penny Cycl. XXIV. 145/2 Bishop Wilkins,..after describing this telegraph of Polybius, mentions another which requires only three lights or torches.
1902 Cassier's Mag. Jan. 213/1 It will not be difficult to perceive a close relationship..between some of the wireless telegraph systems in vogue thousands of years ago, especially those that employed the luminiferous ether as the communicating medium, and the wireless telegraph systems of to-day.
1946 A. Still Soul of Lodestone iii. 69 Improvements in these intangible magnetic telegraphs, with emphasis laid on the sympathy existing between the compass needles at the dispatching and receiving stations, were made by Strada in the year 1617.
2008 P. Berloquin Hidden Codes & Grand Designs i. 8 Aeneas's telegraph had to work with opaque earthenware vessels.
c. figurative and in extended use. Formerly: †a sign, a signal (obsolete). Later (frequently with modifying word): a means of conveying information by signs to someone at a distance. Now rare.In later use perhaps with elements of sense 3c.
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1795 J. O'Keeffe Irish Mimic i. i. 6 Love is a monstrous telegraphe:..you cou'd read without spectacles, that slighted passion is a piteous case.
1817 S. T. Coleridge Blessed are ye that Sow 103 When princely capitals are often but the Telegraphs of distant calamity.
1891 ‘Old Time’ Convict Hulk ‘Success’ 20 The ‘telegraph’ was very extensively worked on board these hulks... The ‘telegraph’ was a system of speaking from one cell to another by means of tapping on the walls.
1934 Daily Courier (Connellsville, Pa.) 4 May 11/1 The beat of the tom-tom serves a double purpose. It is music and rhythm..and it is the jungle telegraph.
1942 Pop. Mech. Nov. 30/2 The narrow gauge engineers used the ‘smoke telegraph’ to keep track of each other... They slowed down when they saw the smoke of an approaching train.
1969 New Yorker 14 June 76/2 He would look down at his plate and find two steaks there. He knew what was happening. A message had come from the kitchen, on the Afro-American telegraph.
d. Nautical. An apparatus for relaying orders from the bridge on a ship to the engine room, typically consisting of identical dials, indicating direction and speed, which are connected by means of cables and pulleys. Cf. telegraph dial n. at Compounds 2. Now chiefly historical.Setting the hand of the dial on the bridge causes the one in the engine room to move to the same position, while simultaneously sounding a bell or other alarm. Some modern versions of this apparatus employ electrical signals and indicator lights.
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society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > equipment of vessel > other equipment of vessel > [noun] > other equipment
rack1691
ice hook1694
searcher1775
fumigation-lamp1815
mete-stick1815
boat axe1820
devil's claw1833
telegraph1842
boat slide1854
anchor ball1858
umbrella warping1867
anchor ball1942
coffee grinder1952
1842 Polytechnic Jrnl. 7 265 A Marine Telegraph has been patented by Mr Hughes, of No. 158 Strand, which has much merit..as a means of putting the person in command [of a steam vessel] in direct communication with the engineer.
1897 G. N. Boothby Beautiful White Devil xi. 187 Next moment the officer of the watch had bounded to the engine-room telegraph, there was a confused ringing of bells in the bowels of the ship, and..we were under weigh once more.
1933 Pop. Sci. Monthly Nov. 108/1 Suddenly, over the soft purring of idling turbines, came the clanging of the bridge telegraph: port outboard propeller—slow—ahead!
1987 W. Hagelund Whalers no More i. 19 The skipper, wedged between the telegraph and the binnacle, was shouting at Roy to get her head up into the weather.
2005 National Fisherman Feb. 35/2 He was listening for the bells that sounded whenever the skipper in the wheelhouse changed the engine-speed command on the brass telegraph. ‘We had full ahead, half speed, slow and stop, and the same in reverse,’ Christopher says.
2. Used in the titles of newspapers.
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1794 S. T. Coleridge Lett. I. 122 I will accept of the reporter's place to the ‘Telegraph’ and live upon a guinea a week.
1828 N.-Y. Spectator 12 Feb. The following is the article of the Telegraph which occasioned the preceding cutting remarks upon the redoubtable Duff Green.
1898 Insurance Economist Mar. 1/2 The Morning Telegraph, of New York, received these letters and sent a reporter to the Home Office.
1944 Times 17 Oct. 3/4 The Sydney Morning Herald will publish tomorrow a broadsheet of six pages in cooperation with the Sun, Daily Telegraph, and Daily Mirror.
1985 A. Blond Book Bk. ix. 142 Nicholas Bagnall and David Holloway have run the Telegraph's book pages for yonks.
2014 Daily Tel. 7 Jan. 18/1 The Telegraph reported the sulphurous response to a wizard wheeze from the retailer SportsDirect.
3.
a. A device or system for transmitting (and receiving) messages one character at a time over a distance by means of electrical signals carried over a wire or (in later use) by radio waves, esp. one in which the signals are created by making and breaking an electrical circuit, causing movements of a needle or pointer in the receiver. More fully (esp. in early use) electric telegraph, magnetic telegraph. Now chiefly historical.The most widely used device of this kind employed Morse code to represent characters audibly or visually. Other forms of receiver pointed to characters upon a dial, printed or traced the message upon a prepared strip of paper, etc. [In electrical telegraph (see quot. 1797) after Spanish telégrafo eléctrico (1795 in a memoir by F. Salva i Campillo, the source referred to in the quot.).] dial telegraph, needle telegraph, printing telegraph, etc.: see first element. See also radio-telegraph n., wireless telegraph n.
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society > communication > telecommunication > telegraphy or telephony > telegraphy > telegraph > [noun]
telly1796
telegraph1797
telelectrograph1857
thought-conductor1889
magneto-telegraph1890
set?1891
1797 Monthly Mag. Feb. 148/1 Dr. Don Francis[c]o Salva had read, at the Royal Academy of Sciences, at Barcelona, a Memoir on the Application of Electricity to the Telegraph, and presented..an Electrical Telegraph of his own invention.
1823 F. Ronalds Descr. Electr. Telegr. 5 This set of experiments appeared to afford no grounds for abandoning the project of an electric telegraph.
1845 P. Hawker Diary (1893) II. 264 I saw the magnetic telegraph at the railway station.
1881 W. McK. Springer in N. Amer. Rev. Apr. 369 In the brief space of thirty years the telegraphs of the world have grown to nearly half a million miles of line, and more than a million miles of wire.
1896 Yorks. Herald 26 Dec. 3/6 Signor Guglielmo Marconi has devised a telegraph in which he utilises such ‘electrostatic waves’.
1926 T. E. Lawrence Seven Pillars (subscribers' ed.) cxi. 590 Young and I cut the telegraph, here an important network of trunk and local lines.
1985 J. A. Michener Texas xi. 797 Emma Rusk, safe in her little town four hundred miles northwest of Indianola, heard of the disaster by telegraph one day after it happened.
2006 V. Smil Transforming 20th Cent. vii. 308 Both telegraph and radio were initially expected to reduce or eliminate conflicts as they promoted better communication.
b. A message sent by telegraph; a telegram. Now historical.
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society > communication > telecommunication > telegraphy or telephony > telegraphy > [noun] > telegraphic message
telegraph message1806
telegraph1821
telegram1852
wire1856
flash1857
telegrapheme1857
telepheme1857
gram1891
tar1893
1821 G. R. Gleig Narr. Campaigns Brit. Army vii. 89 We had not proceeded many miles from the river's mouth, when a telegraph from the admiral gave orders for the troops to be in readiness to land.
1857 Lady Canning Let. fr. Calcutta 12 May in A. Hare Two Noble Lives (1893) II. 161 A telegraph had come telling of a violent outbreak of the 3rd cavalry at Meerut.
1861 C. M. Yonge Stokesley Secret x. 149 Suppose a telegraph should come!
1906 W. E. Quinby in Mich. Hist. Coll. 30 514 The telegraph arrived early in the evening and the paper was ready for the press by eleven o'clock.
1993 R. M. Maxon Struggle for Kenya iv. 118 By the time this telegraph arrived at the CO, Northey had been consulted.
2014 Cape Argus (Nexis) 24 Dec. 13 British lieutenant Bruce Bairnsfather, received a telegraph reading, ‘War off, return home’..but it was to no lasting avail.
c. figurative and in extended use. A means of rapid and concise communication; an instance of this. Also (with modifying word): an informal means of conveying information rapidly, a grapevine.bush telegraph, moccasin telegraph, etc.: see the first element.
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1864 J. R. Lowell Fireside Trav. 123 The magnetic telegraph of human sympathy flashes swift news from brain to brain.
1886 ‘S. Coolidge’ What Katy did Next iv. 96 Hearts have a telegraph of their own whose messages are as sure and swift as any of those sent over the material lines.
1964 D. Macarthur Reminisc. vi. 206 News of the first such shipment spread rapidly by the ‘bamboo telegraph’ through the Philippines.
2010 N.Y. Times (National ed.) 6 June (Week in Review section) 9/3 ‘Look’ is shorthand for ‘if you'd just listen to me, you'd understand’. It is an aggressive telegraph of summary judgment.
4. A fast stagecoach, or similar lighter vehicle, used in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Cf. telegraph coach n. at Compounds 2. Now historical and rare.
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society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > cart, carriage, or wagon > carriage for conveying persons > [noun] > types of carriage > other carriages
dilly1786
telegraph1799
araba1814
station wagon1868
rumbelow1881
1799 J. Fuller Hist. Berwick upon Tweed xiv. 454 A coach called the Telegraph ran from this house from March 1798 to March 1799.
1810 S. Green Reformist II. 130 The whimsical vehicle which conveys the man of high ton, be it either dog-cart, telegraph, or barouchette.
1834 New Sporting Mag. Feb. 245/2 I once upset the Southampton Telegraph; yet..there wasn't a soul hurt—except the coachman and guard.
1888 Eng. Illustr. Mag. Jan. 307/1 Had they been travelling..by the Telegraph, the fastest coach of the age,..they would not have been at Salisbury at all.
1983 H. Hanson Coaching Days iv. 47 The Pilot and Telegraph ran in spirited opposition between Leeds and Birmingham.
5. slang.† a. A college servant who is inclined to pass on information to someone in authority; a telltale. Obsolete. rare.
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society > communication > information > informing on or against > [noun] > informer
wrayerc1000
wrobberc1300
discoverera1400
denunciator1474
informer1503
denouncer1533
detector1541
delatora1572
sycophant1579
inquisitor1580
scout1585
finger man1596
emphanista1631
quadruplator1632
informant1645
eastee-man1681
whiddler1699
runner1724
stag1725
snitch1785
qui tam1788
squeak1795
split1819
clype1825
telegraph1825
snitcher1827
Jack Nasty1837
pigeon1847
booker1863
squealer1865
pig1874
rounder1884
sneak1886
mouse1890
finger1899
fizgig1902
screamer1902
squeaker1903
canary1912
shopper1924
narker1932
snurge1933
cheese eater1935
singer1935
tip-off1941
top-off1941
tout1959
rat fink1961
whistle-blower1970
the mind > attention and judgement > enquiry > investigation, inspection > secret observation, spying > [noun] > a secret observer, spy > a spy or scout
spy13..
espierc1384
espialc1386
especiala1500
espya1500
watchmanc1515
escout1560
espioun1636
emissary1663
telegraph1825
1825 C. M. Westmacott Eng. Spy I. 162 Dick's a trump and no telegraph.
b. Australian. A person who alerts a bushranger to the movements of potential threats, esp. the police. Cf. bush telegraph n. at bush n.1 Compounds 2. Now historical.In quot. 1866: a network of such people.
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society > communication > information > informing on or against > [noun] > informer > police informer
setter1630
nose1789
mouchard1802
rat1818
stool-pigeon1830
knark1851
police informer1851
nark1859
telegraph1864
copper1885
sarbut1897
Noah's Ark1898
stool1906
snout1910
finger1914
policeman1923
stoolie1924
shelf1926
grass1929
grasshopper1937
grasser1950
stukach1969
supergrass1975
1864 Goulburn (New S. Wales) Herald 17 Aug. 2/3 These young scoundrels have got their ‘telegraphs’ in town, and there is not a stir the police can make but it is known.
1866 Tumut & Adelong (New S. Wales) Times 1 Jan. 2/3 They approached to within one hundred yards of the camp unobserved, and then it was apparent that the ‘telegraph’ had done its work.
1888 ‘R. Boldrewood’ Robbery under Arms ii. 28 Warrigal [was sent out] to meet one of our telegraphs..and to bring us any information he could pick up.
1908 C. White John Vane, Bushranger xv. 76 One of our ‘telegraphs’ rode up and told us that a party of three police had just gone along the road.
1948 F. Clune Wild Colonial Boys 329 The police were a quarter of a mile away, but they saw him and beckoned..'A telegraph!' yelled Sanderson. `Follow him, men!'.
1970 H. McQueen New Britannia xi. 139 Even the beloved [Ned] Kelly found it expedient to insult his ‘telegraphs’ with a percentage of his takings.
6. Cricket. A scoreboard displaying the number of runs scored, wickets taken, etc., at a cricket match, in large figures so as to be visible at a distance. Cf. telegraph board n. at Compounds 2. Now historical and rare.
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society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > cricket > umpiring and scoring > [noun] > score > scoreboard
telegraph board1841
telegraph1849
the tins1903
1849 Sussex Agric. Express 8 Sept. 6/4 At the close of the first innings the telegraph showed to the people a score of 61 runs.
1859 All Year Round 23 July 305 There was a proper telegraph to show the ‘runs got’ and the ‘wickets down’.
1915 Amer. Cricketer July 152/2 Of this total, R. Comacho, going in first, got 99 not out, and the telegraph showed but 67 up when 9 wickets were down.
1984 A. G. Bagot Trav., Sport & Hunting India & Central Amer. i. vii. 77 The telegraph showed a hundred and four runs, three wickets, last man sixty-eight.
2015 J. Lazenby Strangers Who came Home viii. 120 Alec Bannerman was foolishly run out with the telegraph showing only 14 runs.
7. Any of several cultivated varieties of long, thin-skinned cucumber developed in England. Frequently attributive.
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1850 Gardeners' Chron. 12 Jan. 17/2 (advt.) Batley's Telegraph.—Light green, fine form, very prolific, 20 to 28 inches.
1882 Garden 14 Jan. 31/1 A few seeds of Telegraph [cucumbers] may now be sown in small pots.
1923 Farmers' Bull. (U.S. Dept. Agric.) No. 1320. 13 The English forcing type is represented by such varieties as the Telegraph and the Duke of Edinburgh.
1997 D. B. Munro & E. Small Veg. of Canada 168 (caption) English telegraph greenhouse cucumber.
2008 C. Stocks Forgotten Fruits (2009) 91 The smooth-skinned Telegraph was introduced by the Victorian nursery firm of William Rollison and Sons.
Compounds
C1. General attributive (chiefly in sense 3a).
telegraph boy n.
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1849 Boston Courier 13 Sept. James McGrath, the loafer, who attempted to rob the telegraph boy, was sentenced to six months imprisonment.
1928 A. Huxley Point Counter Point xxxii. 507 A telegraph boy on a red bicycle was shooting down the mews towards them.
2015 Tamworth Herald (Nexis) 9 Apr. I was a telegraph boy during the war, when manpower and van power were in short supply.
telegraph cable n. [compare cable n. 3]
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1851 Essex Standard 26 Sept. The steamer Blazer, with the great Submarine Telegraph cable on board, is now halfway across the Channel.
1915 E. Hausmann Telegr. Engin. ix. 269 Aerial and underground telegraph cables are formed of any desired number of annealed copper wires.
1992 J. Hamilton-Paterson Seven-tenths v. i. 156 A section of telegraph cable was fetched up for repair off the coast of Sardinia.
telegraph clerk n.
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1847 Examiner 6 Feb. 92/1 The telegraph-clerk at the Dover station..is supposed to have started on one side when the whistle was turned on.
1914 Everybody's Mag. July 141/1 A telegraph-clerk in an outlying district of the Sudan found the desolation getting the better of his nerves.
2008 New Yorker 17 Mar. 51/2 They were typists, telegraph clerks, and secretaries in Auschwitz I.
telegraph company n.
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1825 Morning Chron. 29 July Telegraph Company.—This highly important Association..promises..to bring London and Liverpool..within one hour's communication.
1939 Fortune Nov. 91 To ensure privacy, telegraph companies use high-speed transmitters that send messages that can be picked up only by automatic receiving apparatus.
2008 J. R. Winkler Nexus ii. 55 American telegraph companies attempted to improve hemispheric cable connections.
telegraph house n.
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1808 Earl Dundonald Let. 28 Sept. in Autobiogr. Seaman (1860) I. 288 The newly constructed semaphoric telegraphs..have been blown up and completely demolished, together with their telegraph houses.
1923 R. Kipling Land & Sea Tales 239 My father is at the telegraph-house sending telegrams.
2009 R. Stachurski Longitude By Wire xi. 165 The Great Eastern, gliding calmly in,..drops her anchor in front of the telegraph house.
telegraph instrument n.
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1845 U.S. Patent 4,318 1/1 Telegraph-instruments at opposite extremities of the same or of a single wire..may be kept in constant readiness for use in conjunction with a galvanic battery.
1923 National Geographic Mag. Apr. 402/1 Among loud-speaking telephones, telegraph instruments, and electric lights, the interlocking station director is a commanding general who is in constant touch with every sector held by his forces.
2009 R. Thomson Struct. Change Mech. Age vi. 180 Electricians were also listed in city directories, selling telegraph instruments, batteries, electromedical devices, and their own services.
telegraph line n. [compare line n.2 1e]
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1839 Standard (London) 2 Sept. 4/3 The telegraph is worked by merely pressing small brass keys..acting..upon various hands placed upon a dial-plate at the other end of the telegraph line.
1911 Mariner′s Mirror 1 161* The signal stations in the South of England were completed before the first of the telegraph lines.
2000 Cutting Edge: Encycl. Adv. Technol. 61/2 Because telegraph lines were easy to tap..a new cryptographic system emerged.
telegraph message n.
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society > communication > telecommunication > telegraphy or telephony > telegraphy > [noun] > telegraphic message
telegraph message1806
telegraph1821
telegram1852
wire1856
flash1857
telegrapheme1857
telepheme1857
gram1891
tar1893
1806 Northampton Mercury 30 Aug. Addition to the Telegraph Message from Portsmouth.
1966 McGraw-Hill Encycl. Sci. & Technol. (rev. ed.) XIII. 423/2 In overseas communication, telegraph messages usually are referred to as cablegrams or radiograms.
2002 A. N. Wilson Victorians (2003) xxxv. 507 Well-wishers from all over..saluting their sovereign with bunting and telegraph messages and songs.
telegraph office n.
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1803 Hampshire Tel. & Portsmouth Gaz. 4 July Wanted, a small well-conditioned Private House in Portsmouth—Apply at the Telegraph Office.
1920 Times 6 Nov. 3/3 (advt.) Superior accommodation;..post and telegraph office and 'phone exchange.
2007 E. Knox Dreamquake (2009) vi. 58 The telegraph office was brightly lit. There was one key man and two clerks in the booth.
telegraph operator n.
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1846 North Amer. (Philadelphia) 13 Nov. 2/3 We have experienced many courtesies from the telegraph operators.
1908 Examiner (Launceston, Tasmania) 7 Apr. 1/7 Telegraph operators in India are on a ‘go slow’ strike.
1996 E. A. Proulx Accordion Crimes (1997) 87 The railroad built a station, manned it with a stationmaster, a telegraph operator, a freight manager.
telegraph service n.
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1815 Parl. Deb. 1st Ser. 30 805 This salary, he thought, should have expired with the duty for which it was given, for the Telegraph service must have ceased during the last year.
1914 Q. Jrnl. Econ. 28 582 From these statistics the Postmaster General infers that..American people might expect a more efficient telegraph service.
2015 Australian (Nexis) 4 May (Business section) 32 Quality infrastructure was dirt tracks, paddle steamers and the telegraph service.
telegraph station n.
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1806 Caledonian Mercury 17 July She communicated by signal to the telegraph station, that she had Mr Basilico on board.
1913 Year-bk. Wireless Telegr. & Teleph. 85 For the purpose of preventing interference with the working of any other wireless telegraph station.
2015 Centralian Advocate (Austral.) (Nexis) 17 Apr. 5 Alan Jolley was..working at a telegraph station in Western Australia, in the 1950s.
telegraph wire n.
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1841 Civil Engineer & Architect's Jrnl. 4 239 Protecting tube for the conducting of telegraph wires, either carried on posts with a railing over it or under ground.
1922 St. Nicholas July 993/1 Lightening-arresters, whose object it is to protect telephone and telegraph wires and their operators.
2014 Irish Daily Mail (Nexis) 2 May 34 Other memorable encounters include..swallows gathering on telegraph wires before they head south for winter.
C2. † telegraph carriage n. Obsolete a vehicle fitted with portable equipment for wired or (in later use) wireless telegraphy.Such carriages were originally developed for military use.
telegraph blank n. U.S. (now historical and rare) = telegraph form n.
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society > communication > telecommunication > telegraphy or telephony > telegraphy > [noun] > telegraphic message > telegraph form
telegraph form1859
telegraph blank1865
message form1900
1865 Detroit Free Press 29 Sept. Both the envelope and telegraph blank had been obtained by theft or some other improper manner.
1946 Life 23 Dec. 4/1 Your holiday message will be delivered on colorful, attractive Yuletide telegraph blanks.
2007 J. J. Riley Another One of Riley's Pianos 15 Jimmy would work the Teletype machine taking the messages directly off the machine, gluing them in the telegraph blanks.
telegraph block n. †(a) Nautical a long narrow casing containing a number of small grooved wheels by which, in signalling, several flags may be raised at the same time (obsolete); (b) a section of railway line with a signal at each end connected by telegraph (now historical and rare).
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1863 S. B. Luce Seamanship (ed. 2) v. 63 Telegraph-Blocks are pyramidal shaped blocks, with a number of small brass sheaves, used for making telegraphic signals.
1895 Proc. Amer. Soc. Railroad Superintendents 1894 39 I would like to ask Mr. Wattson what the difference is between the signals of the telegraph blocks and those of the Sykes systems.
1922 H. Pender Handbk. Electr. Engineers (ed. 2) 1408 The manually-operated signals used in connection with the telephone or telegraph blocks are located at passenger stations.
2003 A. J. Bianculli Trains & Technol. IV. viii. 164 The system invented in England by W. R. Sykes in 1875—a combination of a telegraph block system with interlocked signals and switches—was claimed to be the first interlocked block system.
telegraph board n. Cricket a scoreboard displaying large figures which are visible at a distance; = sense 6 (now historical); (later also) a similar scoreboard used in other sports, such as horse racing.
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society > leisure > sport > recording score > [noun] > scoreboard
scoring board1822
scoreboard1831
telegraph board1841
marking board1850
board1883
leader board1970
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > cricket > umpiring and scoring > [noun] > score > scoreboard
telegraph board1841
telegraph1849
the tins1903
1841 Newcastle Courant 25 June ii. 2/6 A telegraph board was erected.
1897 ‘Tivoli’ Short Innings iii. 48 The hundred appeared on the telegraph board. Still the batsmen hit.
1920 J. D. Beresford Imperfect Mother ii. 68 Graham was out; and his spread-eagled wicket advertised the cause of his dismissal. The telegraph board was being hoisted.
2011 S. A. Riess Sport of Kings & Kings of Crime vi. 150 The horse was a ‘starter’ once the telegraph board posted its name as a participant.
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society > communication > telecommunication > telegraphy or telephony > telegraphy > [noun] > vehicle
telegraph coach1796
telegraph carriage1870
1870 Glasgow Herald 2 Aug. 2/4 The telegraph carriage is formed in two compartments, that in front being like the coupe of a railway carriage, serves for an office, while in the after part it carries the reel of wire.
1903 Railroad Telegrapher May 708/2 The U. S. Army is receiving the first consignment of portable wireless telegraph carriages from Germany.
telegraph clock n. now historical a clock which is synchronized with a distant clock by means of electrical signals carried over a telegraph wire; (also) a system for synchronizing clocks in this way.
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the world > time > instruments for measuring time > clock > [noun] > other types of clock
watch-clock1592
German clock1598
quarter clocka1631
wheel-clock1671
table clocka1684
month clock1712
astronomical clock1719
musical clock1721
repeater1725
Tompion1727
pulling clock1733
regulator1735
eight-day clock1741
regulator clock1750
French clock1757
repetition clock1765
day clock1766
striker1778
chiming clock1789
cuckoo-clock1789
night clock1823
telltale1827
carriage clock1828
fly-clock1830
steeple clock1830
telltale clock1832
skeleton clock1842
telegraph clock1842
star clock1850
weight-clock1850
prison clock1853
crystal clock1854
pillar scroll top clock1860
sheep's-head clock1872
presentation clock1875
pillar clock1880
stop-clock1881
Waterbury1882
calendar-clock1884
ting-tang clock1884
birdcage clock1886
sheep's head1887
perpetual calendar1892
bracket clock1894
Act of Parliament clock1899
cartel clock1899
banjo-clock1903
master clock1904
lantern clock1913
time clock1919
evolutionary clock1922
lancet clock1922
atomic clock1927
quartz clock1934
clock radio1946
real-time clock1953
organ clock1956
molecular clock1974
travelling clock2014
1842 C. Wheatstone in Lit. Gaz. 18 June 423/1 The telegraph-clock itself was shewn in action in the library on the same evening.
1919 Pop. Sci. Monthly Apr. 112/3 First set the watch to the best time obtainable, preferably a telegraph clock.
2013 D. R. Coen Earthquake Observers iv. 84 With standardized time still a novelty, few people could be relied on to calibrate their house clock or pocket watch to the ‘telegraph’ clock at the local railway station.
telegraph coach n. now historical and rare a fast stagecoach; cf. sense 4.
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society > communication > telecommunication > telegraphy or telephony > telegraphy > [noun] > vehicle
telegraph coach1796
telegraph carriage1870
society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > public service vehicle > [noun] > stagecoach or mail coach > specific type
long-coach1672
telegraph coach1796
mail-gig1813
mail diligence1837
1796 Morning Post 19 July Worcester Telegraph Coach, every Monday, Thursday, and Saturday Noon, at One o'Clock.
1835 N.Y. Commerc. Advertiser 23 July 4/2 Two Telegraph Coaches will leave Albany every day at half-past 10, A.M...and arrive at Rochester in 44 hours.
2009 J. Myerson Lost Child 159 The next morning they all get up at half past four and set off by telegraph coach for Carrow Abbey.
telegraph cock n. now rare a self-closing stopcock that resembles a telegraph key.
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1877 Illustr. Price-list W. C. Duyckinck 188 Plated Telegraph Cocks, each..$2 50.
1902 Metal Worker 12 Apr. 42/1 The spindles [were] fitted with levers riding on the caps like the ordinary telegraph cock.
1947 Louisville & Nashville Employes' Mag. Jan. 16/3 Substitution of plain brass bibb cock for spring handle telegraph cock for caboose coolers and mail apartment cars.
telegraph code n. now historical a system of visual signals, electrical signals, etc., used to encode messages for transmission by telegraph; esp. = Morse code n. at Morse n.3 2c.
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society > communication > telecommunication > telegraphy or telephony > telegraphy > [noun] > telegraphic message > code
telegraph code1828
1828 Naval & Mil. Mag. Dec. 517 (note) Sir Home Popham was not the original inventor of the Telegraph code.
1885 List of Subscribers Exchange Syst. (United Telephone Co.) (ed. 6) 231 Universal Translations Institute,..Specialities:..patent specifications, telegraph codes.
1949 Pop. Sci. Monthly Dec. 30/2 (advt.) New amazing Telegraph Code Practice Set.
2014 Dominion Post (Wellington, N.Z.) (Nexis) 16 Apr. 12 Symbols like ‘#’ are remnants of old telegraph codes.
telegraph dial n. now chiefly historical a dial used to indicate a character or code on any of various types of telegraph; (in later use) esp. a dial on a ship's telegraph used to communicate between the bridge and the engine room (see sense 1d).
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1842 W. F. Cooke Telegr. Railways 24 The signals might be a counterpart of the Telegraph dials.
1902 J. Conrad Typhoon xix. 146 The three pairs of eyes flew up to the telegraph dial to see the hand dart upwards from ‘Full’ to ‘Stop’ as if snatched by a devil.
2011 A. Wolf Watch ends Night 96 Three polished telegraph dials stand waist high.
telegraph editor n. U.S. (now historical) a person on the staff of a newspaper who edits news received by telegraph.
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society > communication > journalism > journalist > editor of journal or newspaper > [noun] > other types of journal or newspaper editor
telegraph editor1816
editor1837
managing editor1837
sporting editor1857
news editor1868
day editor1869
art editor1871
guest editor1925
1816 J. Kortz tr. U.-B. von G. Woful Hist. Eudoxia vi. 65 One can—on an onion-skin paper—or ‘flimsy’ the telegraph editors call it.
1923 G. C. Bastian Editing Day's News 9 Inside the News Room..[we find the] Managing Editor..City Editor..Telegraph Editor [etc.].
1981 N.Y. Times 15 June a20/3 The telegraph editors of our [sc. the Associated Press's] member papers take our word for it and put it in print.
2012 S. Powell 100 Amer. Crime Writers xxxvi. 122 Futrelle was working as telegraph editor for the New York Herald when the Spanish-American War broke out in 1898.
telegraph form n. a paper form printed with spaces in which the words of a telegram are to be written for dispatch.
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society > communication > telecommunication > telegraphy or telephony > telegraphy > [noun] > telegraphic message > telegraph form
telegraph form1859
telegraph blank1865
message form1900
1859 Spectator 26 Mar. 352/1 A waiting-room furnished with newspapers and writing materials,..and where telegraph forms are kept for general use.
1918 P. B. Kyne Valley of Giants xxvi. 276 ‘Read this,’ Henry urged, and thrust a yellow telegraph-form under the Mayor's nose.
2014 New Statesman (Nexis) 14 Apr. Matisse was waiting..in the post office, thinking about his mother, whom he drew on a telegraph form without thinking.
telegraph key n. now historical a small hand-operated lever or other device in a telegraphic transmitter, used to alternately make and break the circuit; cf. key n.1 20.
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society > communication > telecommunication > telegraphy or telephony > telegraphy > telegraph > [noun] > transmitter > key
telegraph key1848
Morse key1858
tapper1876
1848 N. Amer. & U.S. Gaz. 16 Dec. The hours, minutes and seconds, may be registered..by striking on the telegraph key at the instant of any occurrence.
1920 S. Lewis Main St. xix. 235 Awake at three in the morning, alone in a room hectic with clatter of the telegraph key.
2014 J. Bryden Fighting to Lose iii. 70 The German army signals personnel who trained Owens would have known instantly that it was not he who was on the telegraph key.
telegraph plant n. a tropical Asian shrub, Codariocalyx motorius (formerly Desmodium gyrans) (family Fabaceae), remarkable for the spontaneous movements of its leaflets, reminiscent of signalling; also called moving plant, semaphore plant.
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the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > non-British plants or herbs > [noun] > Asian or Indian
moving plant1787
elephant's foot1789
Indian lettuce1791
Sonerila1846
telegraph plant1856
whirling plant1866
mitsuba1890
1856 Horticulturalist May 243 It is the Desmodium gyrans, usually called the Moving Plant, and, in Bengal, the Telegraph Plant.
1942 Pop. Sci. Apr. 113/2 Leaves of the telegraph plant, Desmodium gyrans, especially the two small ones on each shoot, rise and fall briskly and even sweep more or less in a circle!
2012 A. Johnsson et al. in A. Volkov Plant Electrophysiol. iv. 86 The plant..is popularly known as ‘The Telegraph Plant’ (or the ‘semaphore plant’) because of the typical movements of its leaflets.
telegraph pole n. (a) the upright post of a semaphore signalling apparatus; = telegraph post n. (b) (now historical and rare); (b) one of a series of tall (often wooden) poles or masts used to carry telegraph wires or (in later use) telephone lines, power lines, and other utility cables above the ground; = telegraph post n. (c).
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society > communication > telecommunication > telegraphy or telephony > [noun] > pole
telegraph post1799
telegraph pole1808
telephone pole1879
1808 S. T. Coleridge Notebks. (1973) III. 3384 We turned round immediately & came back to the Telegraph-pole again.
1851 H. D. Thoreau Jrnl. 12 Sept. (1992) IV. 76 I instantly sat down on a stone at the foot of the telegraph pole—& attended to the communication.
1884 J. Tait Mind in Matter 54 The brain and nerves are as callous as a telegraph-pole.
1937 W. Lewis Revenge for Love vii. vi. 393 Trees, rocks, and telegraph-poles stood up dizzily before her and crashed down behind.
1985 D. Conner Canada: Building our Nation iii. viii. 237 My job was to dig holes five feet (1.5 m) deep for the telegraph poles.
2014 Guardian 31 July 26/4 BT's..system brings fibre-optic cables from the local telephone exchange to the street, where a small box will be attached to a telegraph pole.
telegraph post n. †(a) a position at which a semaphore signalling apparatus is located (obsolete); (b) the upright post of a semaphore; = telegraph pole n. (a) (now historical and rare); (c) a pole or mast used to carry telegraph or (in later use) other utility cables; = telegraph pole n. (b).
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society > communication > telecommunication > telegraphy or telephony > [noun] > pole
telegraph post1799
telegraph pole1808
telephone pole1879
1799 Naval Chron. 1 537 The signal for the enemy's fleet being out in force has been flying at the Telegraph Post, Maker Heights, since day-break, to alarm the different signal posts on the coast.
1810 Edinb. Med. & Surg. Jrnl. 6 421 On the 15th, however, two men came from the telegraph post at Archi, near Melazzo, which had always been deemed an unhealthy spot.
1811 Pilot 26 Apr. Part of a telegraphic dispatch was received there [sc. Lisbon], by means of signal telegraph posts erected on the high Sierras.
1821 Courier 1 Jan. St. Helena..is fortified all round, and numerous telegraph posts are planted, wereby [sic] vessels are descried 90 miles distant.
1845 N.-Y. Daily Tribune 25 July 2/6 The Telegraph Posts are to be forty feet high through Broadway, and handsomely painted.
1851 H. D. Thoreau Jrnl. 30 Sept. (1992) IV. 112 Methinks these telegraph posts should bear a great price with musical instrument makers.
1901 Wide World Mag. 6 449/2 I saw the vagrant telegraph-posts trailing along the horizon like a row of match-sticks.
1950 D. Thomas Let. 10 Jan. (1987) 741 Just outside Bristol, he drove his car into a telegraph post and buckled it, which I hope drove his Mother mad.
2015 Dorset Echo (Nexis) 9 Feb. We have got telegraph posts every 100 yards. We are used to seeing these things.
telegraph reel n. chiefly U.S. (now historical and rare) (a) a reel on which the paper record of a printing telegraph is wound; (by extension) the paper record itself; (b) a reel on which telegraph wire is wound to facilitate its laying or installation.
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society > communication > telecommunication > telegraphy or telephony > telegraphy > telegraph > [noun] > types of > recording telegraphs > parts of
telegraph reel1851
reel1890
1851 Watertown (Wisconsin) Chron. 1 Oct. His paper works upon a reel, and is continuous, like the telegraph reel.
1858 U.S. Patent 21,634 A transverse section of the telegraph-reel, showing the cable wound upon it.
1877 U.S. Patent 198,239 2/1 The ribboned paper to be printed and punched will be cut in coils in the shape usually adopted for telegraph-reel paper.
1904 Outlook 25 June 456/1 Guns, ammunition, bridge, telegraph reels, signal service,..and every manner of food supply, move on eternally toward the north.
1915 Naval Rev. 3 626 An inspection of the telegraph reel showed that the stationmaster had been doing his duty up to the very moment of surrender.
1964 L. Sims Thaddeus Lowe xi. 108 Thaddeus could see the telegraph reel unwinding slowly and smoothly, paying out the precious wire.
telegraph register n. a telegraphic receiver, or part of one, which produces a physical record of the messages received, typically on a ribbon of paper.
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society > communication > telecommunication > telegraphy or telephony > telegraphy > telegraph > [noun] > types of > recording telegraphs
telegraph register1845
Morse1867
recorder1867
nicker1871
ink-writer1876
inker1882
ticker1883
news ticker1887
tape-machine1891
synchronograph1897
tape-ticker1904
undulator1910
reperforator1913
1845 Electr. Mag. Oct. 98 The telegraph register strikes three copies of each character..by means of three points.
1911 Official Proc. St. Louis Railway Club 14 July 37 I would watch eagerly for the reception of a telegram.., which would be accompanied by the buzzing noise of the telegraph register.
2007 L. Sonneborn Electric Light ii. 21 Using pieces from several discarded telegraph registers, he crafted a new device.
telegraph signal n. a signal made by telegraph.
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1797 Parl. Reg. 1797–1802 III. 80 It neither arose from..a misunderstanding..nor from a confusion of the Telegraph signals.
1878 Capital & Labour 5 June 363/2 In that patent he [sc. Edison] describes a means of recording ordinary telegraph signals by a chisel-shaped stylus indenting a sheet of paper.
2014 Age (Melbourne) (Nexis) 20 Feb. 12 Every hour it emitted a telegraph signal to suburban stations, synchronising all the clocks.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2016; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
telegraphv.
/ˈtɛlᵻɡrɑːf/, /ˈtɛlᵻɡraf/, U.S. /ˈtɛləˌɡræf/ 1.
a. intransitive. To convey information, a message, etc., by a gesture, facial expression, appearance, or other sign or signal. Frequently with to. Cf. telegraph n. 1c and (with later use) telegraph n. 3c.
ΚΠ
1799 European Mag. & London Rev. Nov. 305/2 To us it [sc. a mountain] telegraphed with favourable omen, as we distinctly saw its summit canopied with etherial blue.
1818 ‘T. Brown’ Brighton I. 230 They nod and telegraph to their favourites.
1888 J. W. Burgon Lives Twelve Good Men II. v. 63 He telegraphed to me (I was in the area) to come up to him.
1914 National Geographic June 663/2 The eye telegraphs to the brain and the brain to the hand.
1989 R. C. Wilson Gypsies (1990) 157 Aunt Laura nodded once solemnly, telegraphing to him that this was important, he had better clear off.
2012 J. Danielian & P. Gianotti Listening with Purpose viii. 250 You are telegraphing to them early on in the therapy that passive rescue is not what the therapy process is about.
b. transitive. To convey information, a message, etc., to (a person) by a gesture, expression, or other sign or signal.
ΚΠ
1842 S. Lover Handy Andy viii Tom Durfy..began telegraphing Biddy, who..had shoved herself well before the door.
1870 G. P. Belden Belden, White Chief x. 107 The Indians send their signals very intelligently and seldom make mistakes in telegraphing each other by these silent monitors.
1919 I. E. Mackay Mist Morning ii. 189 The brothers telegraphed each other by their favourite method of look and gesture.
2007 N. L. Macht Connie Mack 633 His infielders constantly telegraphed each other, passing along the catcher's signs and relaying them to the outfielders.
c. transitive. To convey (information, a message, etc.) by a gesture, expression, or other sign or signal.
ΚΠ
1844 A. Smith Adventures Mr. Ledbury I. xiii. 173 Emma telegraphed a nod of assent.
1880 C. de Chatelain Man of Many Daughters lxviii. 444 Alternately striving to catch a glimpse of Flora..and telegraphing jokes to the younger branches of the family.
1885 Harper's Mag. Mar. 636/2 The eye..telegraphs the outline..to the cells in the cortex.
1912 C. Mathewson & J. N. Wheeler Pitching in Pinch vii. 160 You are telegraphing the signs to the batters by moving around before the pitcher throws the ball.
1994 E. Caplin Al Capp Remembered 92 Alfred was telegraphing his restlessness; his smile had frozen into a disquieting grimace.
2003 N.Y. Mag. 14 July 53/1 Most wine geeks of my acquaintance tend to telegraph their views silently, like bad poker players.
2. Now chiefly historical.
a. transitive. To send, transmit, or announce (news, a message, etc.) by telegraph (telegraph n. 1a, 3a). Often with clause or direct speech as object; also with the recipient as indirect object.
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society > communication > indication > signalling > signal (something) [verb (transitive)]
whease1602
signal1800
telegraph1806
semaphore1838
message1886
society > communication > indication > signalling > signal (something) [verb (transitive)] > send telegram or telegraph
telegraph1806
telegram1860
society > communication > telecommunication > telegraphy or telephony > telegraphy > telegraph a message [verb (transitive)]
telegraph1806
flash1847
retelegraph1848
wire1859
telegram1864
cable1871
1806 Morning Post 25 Mar. I therefore telegraphed the squadron, that the principal object of attack would be the Admiral and his seconds.
1828 W. P. Cumby Let. 20 Mar. in Notes & Queries (1884) 5 Apr. 262 Seeing the Admiral telegraph to Captain Blackwood..‘I rely on your keeping sight of the Enemy through the night’.
1888 R. Hart Let. 11 Mar. in J. K. Fairbank et al. I. G. in Peking (1975) I. 695 Rumour says Kaiser Wilhelm is dead:—if true, I wonder you did not telegraph it.
1924 F. M. Ford Some do Not i. ii. 44 On Monday I shall telegraph: ‘Righto’ and nothing else.
2015 J. Chiavereni Mrs. Grant & Madame Jule (2016) 224 Ulys telegraphed that Frederick should immediately escort Julia and the children to visit him at City Point.
b. intransitive. To signal or communicate by telegraph; spec. (esp. in later use) to send a telegram.
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society > communication > indication > signalling > make signals [verb (intransitive)] > by means of telegraph
telegraph1807
society > communication > telecommunication > telegraphy or telephony > telegraphy > telegraph [verb (intransitive)]
telegraph1807
wire1859
cable1871
telegram1876
cablegraph1887
marconigraph1902
1807 Bury & Norwich Post 16 Sept. 2/1 The Staunch telegraphed to say I was wanted on shore.
1831 E. J. Trelawny Adventures Younger Son I. 253 We saw the frigate hoist the recal signal.., and telegraph to her companion.
1858 C. Dickens Let. 22 Oct. (1995) VIII. 685 We have telegraphed to know.
1870 M. Bridgman Robert Lynne II. ix. 181 I should like Charles telegraphed for.
1905 Motor Boat (N.Y.) 25 June 14/1 We telegraphed and telephoned, and waited, and hunted at all the different hotels in Syracuse, and telegraphed and telephoned some more.
1983 G. W. Canfield Sarah Winnemucca xiii. 135 I telegraphed and the agent telegraphed for supplies, but word came that no appropriation had been made.
2008 Wilson Q. Autumn 15/2 The printers of your book have to telegraph to the mill for a carload of paper for a new edition.
c. transitive. To signal or send a message to (a person) by telegraph; (also) to summon by a telegram.
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society > communication > indication > signalling > signal (something) [verb (transitive)] > signal to (a person)
signal1805
telegraph1808
signalize1874
1808 Morning Post 7 Mar. He merely telegraphed the garrison.
1810 J. W. Maurice Let. 3 Dec. in Naval Chron. (1811) 25 218 The..gun-brig was telegraphed to send a boat.
1891 F. W. Robinson Her Love & his Life vii. v Felix has been telegraphed to town.
1973 R. Terrill R. H. Tawney & his Times i. iii. 82 During the war, Tawney heard of working-class friends with no place to live, and telegraphed them to come to Rose Cottage.
2010 M. Broderick Triumvirate xliii. 459 Pennsylvania Railroad president Alexander J. Cassatt telegraphed McKim to come to see him in Philadelphia.
3. † a. transitive. Of a college servant: to pass on information to (someone in authority). Cf. telegraph n. 5a. Obsolete. rare.
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1825 C. M. Westmacott Eng. Spy I. 167 I have..always stuck up for my college and never telegraph'd the big wigs.
b. transitive. Australian colloquial. To pass on (information, esp. about police movements) by bush telegraph. Now rare.
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society > communication > information > informing on or against > inform on or against [verb (transitive)] > bush telegraph
telegraph1878
1878 Australasian Sketcher 23 Nov. 135/2 The object of the expedition leaked out, and, no doubt, was rapidly telegraphed across the bush to Edward Kelly.
1880 Victorian Rev. (Melbourne) Jan. 428 News of the movements of the troopers were ‘telegraphed’ to them by their confederates.
1928 Blackwood's Mag. Oct. 549/1 It is seldom indeed that a safari passes through the bush without some news of it being ‘telegraphed’ ahead.
1937 M. Terry Sand & Sun 80 We had been observed on the hilltop and the news was being telegraphed through the bush—a mulga wire.
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society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > cricket > umpiring and scoring > umpire and score [verb (transitive)] > exhibit score on scoreboard
telegraph1860
1860 Bell's Life in London 3 June 7/6 The seventh wicket (Clarke's) had caused 50 to be telegraphed.
1895 Westm. Gaz. 9 May 5/3 The play was again spirited, and in less than ten minutes 200 was telegraphed.
1913 Manitoba Free Press 18 Aug. 6/4 Twenty runs were telegraphed as a result of 8 overs in 26 minutes.
5.
a. transitive. Sport (originally Boxing). To initiate (a punch, throw, move, etc.) in a way that makes one's intention obvious. Also in figurative contexts.
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society > leisure > sport > types of play, actions, or postures > [verb (transitive)] > other actions or types of play
outshoot1545
football1599
pitch1717
make1819
to warm up1868
to draw out1893
bench1898
foot1900
cover1907
cannonball1911
telegraph1913
unsight1923
snap1951
to sit out1955
pike1956
to sit down1956
wrong-foot1960
blindside1968
sit1977
1913 Daily Commonw. (Fond du Lac, Wisconsin) 8 July 7/1 Pelkey has improved wonderfully of late, and has developed a style that completely puzzles his opponent. He no longer telegraphs a blow.
1940 N.Y. Times 27 Oct. v. 6/4 Finneran, who dropped back every time Scott telegraphed his pass by fading far to he rear, made the first interception.
1945 E. Nichols Hunky Johnny 68 He telegraphs every curve he throws.
1969 Wall St. Jrnl. 1 Dec. 14/1 The company won't disclose the nature of the new products now, Mr. Arneson said. ‘We're not about to telegraph our punches.’
1989 B. Courtenay Power of One xii. 251 I..managed two more good punches to the spot under his heart when he telegraphed another right cross.
2015 Daily Tel. (Nexis) 3 June (Sports section) 11 Guys who are not good batsmen knew where the ball was going to be aimed... Ball after ball was telegraphed.
b. transitive. In extended use. To give an obvious hint or premature indication of (something to come). Also with that-clause as object.
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society > communication > indication > [verb (transitive)] > plainly or obviously
shriek1920
shout1931
shriek1944
telegraph1952
1952 N.Y. Times 13 Aug. (Late City ed.) 29/5 Inevitably the pay-off gag was ‘telegraphed’ to the audience far in advance.
1968 Punch 16 Oct. 558/3 The exasperating way music [in a film] sometimes not only over-emphasises but even telegraphs effects.
1986 N.Y. Times 9 Apr. d17/2 The strength of Treasury bill futures is telegraphing that there's an imminent cut in the discount rate coming.
2004 Chicago Tribune (Midwest ed.) 21 May ii. 3/4 The projected titles sometimes telegraphed the jokes before the performers actually sang them.
Derivatives
ˌtelegraˈphee n. now rare a person to whom a telegram is sent.
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society > communication > telecommunication > telegraphy or telephony > telegraphy > [noun] > recipient of telegram
telegraphee1875
1875 Musical World 18 Dec. 853/1 Whenever the Pope has blessed a sick person by telegraph, he has always been unfortunate enough to have the telegraphee die forthwith.
1895 Westm. Gaz. 4 Nov. 2/3 A decision of Lord Coleridge's that there was no property in a special telegram, though it may have cost the telegraphee a thousand pounds to procure.
1964 E. Sevareid This is Eric Sevareid ix. 243 If you put a check mark opposite certain verses, their phone operators will sing the sweet song to the telegraphee.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2016; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1793v.1799