telephonist

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

noun

Chiefly British.

1. a telephone switchboard operator.

telephonist

/ tɪˈlɛfənɪst /

noun

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of telephonist¹

First recorded in 1875–80; telephone + -ist

Example Sentences

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.

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A group of telephonists are working in tightly packed rows of desks at a secret location in Kabul, taking calls from all around the country.

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The device pictured here was aimed at both telephonists and for home use, and was one of many models trialled that year.

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The 52-year-old has been blind since birth and had been comfortably in employment as a telephonist for West Mercia Police - then a common profession for blind people, but now superseded by technology.

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

Read more on The Guardian