telegrafo

telegraph

noun teh-LEH-grah-foh Rare

Origin: From Greek 'tele' (far) + 'graphein' (to write), coined in the 18th century.

Usage Note

Telegrafo is masculine: il telegrafo. Its related verb is telegrafare (to telegraph) and the message is il telegramma (plural i telegrammi). Though largely obsolete as a technology, the word survives in idioms like stile telegrafico — meaning extremely terse, clipped language or writing style.

Examples

"Il telegrafo rivoluzionò le comunicazioni."

Natural Translation

The telegraph revolutionised communications.

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