telephonyn.
/tᵻˈlɛfəni/, /ˈtɛlᵻfəʊni/, U.S. /təˈlɛfəni/, /ˈtɛləˌfoʊni/ 1. A system for communicating over a long distance using musical notes in which each note in a three octave range is assigned a meaning, devised by the French musician and composer Jean-François Sudre in 1828. Cf. telephone n. 2. rare (now historical).
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > indication > signalling > audible signalling > [noun] > specific system of
telephone1835
telephony1835
1835 Athenæum July 531 M. Sudré [sic], whose new system of telegraphic communication, or telephony (as he calls it) we mentioned some weeks ago.
1852 Littell's Living Age 23 Oct. 192/1 Telephony is a simpler form of the ‘Langue-Universelle’ principle, and is destined for the conveyance of military and naval orders.
1985 B. Massumi tr. J. Attali Noise iv. 92 Using only three notes, Sudre devised telephony.
2. Originally: the transmission of sound, esp. speech, over a distance by converting it into electrical signals. In later use: the transmission of speech and (in later use) data over telephone networks; the use of telephones for communication; (also) the field of technology associated with this.Now frequently with modifying word specifying a particular feature of the mode of transmission. mobile telephony, radio telephony, etc.: see first element.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > telecommunication > telegraphy or telephony > telephony > [noun]
telephonetics1877
telephony1877
1877 A. G. Bell in Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts & Sci. 1876–7 12 1 Researches in Telephony.
1884 St. James's Gaz. 23 Oct. 5/1 The Belgians..have just started a system of public telephony.
1885 Pall Mall Gaz. 18 Sept. 6/2 The solution of the problem of long distance telephony and along with it the much more important question of submarine telephony is said to be within sight.
1900 Westm. Gaz. 20 June 10/2 Some interesting experiments in wireless telephony are being conducted by the Post Office between the..Skerries Island and Anglesey.
1931 Pop. Mech. Oct. 580/1 Telegraphy is the more common form of operation, requiring less power to cover longer distances than telephony.
1962 Financial Times 14 Feb. 15/2 A fundamental advance in message-handling techniques by telegraphy or telephony is forecast by Elliott Brothers (London), one of Britain's outstanding concerns in the computer field.
2002 P. J. J. Welfens Interneteconomics.net b iii. 88 Local telephony is so crucial for internet access, it is essential to take a closer look at the regulations of telecommunications.
2009 B. Sosinsky Networking Bible v. xxvi. 662 Telephony has had a historical role in the development of computer networks, especially in the areas of switching and routing.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2016; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
<
n.1835