telephonist

[ tuh-lef-uh-nist, tel-uh-foh- ]

/ təˈlɛf ə nɪst, ˈtɛl əˌfoʊ- /

noun Chiefly British.

a telephone switchboard operator.

Nearby words

telephone pole, telephone receiver, telephone selling, telephone tag, telephonic, telephonist, telephony, telephoto, telephoto lens, telephotograph, telephotography

Origin of telephonist

First recorded in 1875–80; telephone + -ist

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for telephonist

For the purpose of maintaining communication a French telephonist was quartered in our dug-out.
500 of the Best Cockney War Stories|Various
This entailed getting up early, so after an hour's rest without sleeping, I set off with my telephonist.
The Secrets of a Kuttite|Edward O. Mousley
His command consisted of five riflemen, a telephonist, a linesman, and two stretcher-bearers.
Canada in Flanders, Volume II (of 3)|Lord Max Aitken Beaverbrook
Then, just as the telephonist reported "through" again the inevitable happened.
Servants of the Guns|Jeffery E. Jeffery

He promptly called to his telephonist to order three guns of Battery No.
Fighting the Boche Underground|Harry Davis Trounce

British Dictionary definitions for telephonist

telephonist

/ (tɪˈlɛfənɪst) /

noun

British a person who operates a telephone switchboardAlso called (esp US): telephone operator

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012