A
telephone, or phone, is a telecommunications device that converts sound
into electronic signals suitable for transmission via cables or other
transmission media over long distances. First patented in 1876 by
Alexander Graham Bell and further developed by many others, the
telephone was the first device in human history that enabled people to
talk directly with each other across large distances. It
rapidly became indispensable to businesses, government, and households,
and it is now among the most widely used appliances in the developed
world. The word telephone has been adapted into the vocabulary of many
languages. It is derived from the Greek: τῆλε, tēle, far and φωνή,
phōnē, voice, together meaning distant voice.
