Vocabulary Lesson

Root Words from Tele and Phone

Everybody knows what a telephone is. Almost everyone has one, but very few people know why it is called telephone. When you understand the meaning behind the words, not only does it help you with the one word, it can help you understand a lot of other words, too.

tele means far, distance, or from afar

phon means sound

When you put them both together it means something that lets you hear sound from a distance.

So now that you know that, look at some other words that have tele:

telegraph- graph means writing. A telegraph is a written message that is sent a long distance by Morse code.

television- I'm sure you know that vision means something you can see. You can see something from a distance.

And some words that use phon:

microphone- micro means small. We use a microphone to capture a small voice and make it large.

homophone- homo means same. A homophone is two different words that sound the same, like here and hear.