telegraph
Dots and dashes
A telegraph is a system for transmitting messages over long distances using electrical signals through wires—the dominant long-distance communication technology from the mid-19th century until telephones and radio supplanted it.
To telegraph is to send such a message.
Figuratively, to telegraph something is to signal your intentions unintentionally or prematurely: He telegraphed his punch and got countered.
A telegraphic style is extremely brief, omitting articles and pronouns as in actual telegram text.
Heavy-duty woven line
- wireThin metallic conductor
- conductorOne who directs musicians
- transmissionSending of information
- circuitClosed electrical pathway
current · line · insulation · relay · sounder · ticker · electromagnetic · copper
Wired overseas message
- wireThin metallic conductor
- dispatchSend with speed
- communiqueOfficial public announcement
- missiveFormal letter sent
bulletin · news · correspondence · urgent · delivery · recipient · sender · reply
Of a prim era
- nineteenth-centuryThe years 1801-1900
- transatlanticSpanning the ocean between continents
- dispatchSend with speed
- newsflashUrgent broadcast update
railroad · patent · obsolete · antique · era · invention · innovation
Flag-based signaling system
- heliographSunlight-based signaling device
- visualOf or concerning sight
- beaconGuiding light source
- flagCloth symbol or signal
flash · lamp · shutter · signalman · wigwag · blinker · optical · naval
cable
Heavy-duty woven line
- wireThin metallic conductor
- conductorOne who directs musicians
- transmissionSending of information
circuit · current · line · insulation · relay · sounder · ticker · electromagnetic · copper · transatlantic
cablegram
Wired overseas message
- wireThin metallic conductor
- dispatchSend with speed
- communiqueOfficial public announcement
missive · bulletin · news · correspondence · urgent · delivery · recipient · sender · reply · stop
dot
Small circular mark
code · encode · decode · transmit · receiver · operator · key · sounder · SOS · distress
Victorian
Of a prim era
- nineteenth-centuryThe years 1801-1900
- transatlanticSpanning the ocean between continents
- dispatchSend with speed
newsflash · railroad · patent · obsolete · antique · era · invention · innovation
semaphore
Flag-based signaling system
- heliographSunlight-based signaling device
- visualOf or concerning sight
- beaconGuiding light source
flag · flash · lamp · shutter · signalman · wigwag · blinker · optical · naval · maritime
signal
Message-conveying cue
- foreshadowIndicate future events
- indicateSignal or point to
- revealMake something visible
broadcast · announce · tip-off · betray · hint · predictable · obvious · giveaway
Times
Periods or newspaper
- 1800s AmericaOregon Trail, Trail of Tears, transcontinental railroad, Civil War, Abraham Lincoln
- scientific progressinventions, scientific expeditions, natural history, geology, botany
- tele- wordsTV, telecast, telecom, telepathy, teleport
- 1800sVictorian era, Napoleon, Gilded Age, Queen Victoria, Industrial Revolution
- 1860sAbraham Lincoln, American Civil War, Appomattox, Confederacy, Confederate States
- analog technologyanalog clocks, analog clock, analog computers, film cameras, analog meter
telegraphtelephone
Voice communication device
video call · instant messaging · live broadcast · oral communication · smartphone
- singing telegramsPerformed songs as gifts
- telegraph cablesWires transmitting electrical messages
- telegraph polesPosts supporting communication lines
- telegraph wiresCables carrying coded messages
- telegraph linesElectrical message transmission cables
- telegraph operatorTransmits coded wire messages
telegram, telegraphed, telegrams, telegraphing, telegraphs, telegraphic, telegrammed, telegraphy, telegramming