telephonist

American  

[tuh-lef-uh-nist, tel-uh-foh-] / təˈlɛf ə nɪst, ˈtɛl əˌfoʊ- /

noun

Chiefly British.

1. a telephone switchboard operator.

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telephonist British  

/ tɪˈlɛfənɪst /

noun

1. Also called (esp US): telephone operator. a person who operates a telephone switchboard

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Etymology

Origin of telephonist

First recorded in 1875–80; telephone + -ist

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

telephonist

After war service as a telephonist and a sign painter, she married the Swiss sculptor, René Graetz, and in 1946 they moved to the bombed-out city of Berlin to help build a socialist Germany.

From BBC ● Jun. 5, 2022

Mr. Murphy, a retired valet, telephonist and unrepentant hoarder, owns a small house in Dublin’s north inner city, but his eyesight is failing and he cannot afford to pay for home care.

From New York Times ● Dec. 24, 2017

For 25 years she had worked as a telephonist for the GPO.

From The Guardian ● Nov. 23, 2012

Opportunities were limited for women, but you may well have been a secretary or telephonist...

From BBC ● May 25, 2012

Then he told the telephonist on duty to get him each battery in turn; and the Brigade was soon a stage nearer in its preparations for supporting the Infantry brigade selected to make the attack.

From Pushed and the Return Push by George Herbert Fosdike Nichols

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