Telecommunicate
/ˌtɛl.i.kəˈmjuː.nɪ.keɪt/noun
To communicate over a distance by electronic means.
Did you know?Telecommunicate is a modern technical formation built from Greek tele- ‘far off’ plus Latin communicare ‘to share, make common’—so every message sent across space is, etymologically, an act of making distance feel less real.
Etymological Timeline
Ancient Greek
Greek
tēle
“far off, at a distance”
Latin
Latin
communicare
“to share, impart, make common”
Late Latin
Latin
communis
“common, shared”
19th Century
English
telecommunication
“communication over a distance by electrical or mechanical means”
20th Century
English
telecommunicate
“to communicate at a distance, especially by electronic systems”
Explore more surprising origins