telpher

American  

[tel-fer] / ˈtɛl fər /

Or telfer

noun

1. Also a traveling unit, car, or carrier suspended from cables in a telpherage, an aerial transportation system.

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adjective

1. of or relating to a system of telpherage.

verb (used with object)

1. to transport by means of a telpherage.

telpher British  

/ ˈtɛlfə /

noun

1. a load-carrying car in a telpherage

2. 1. another word for telpherage

   2. ( as modifier )

      a telpher line

      a telpher system

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verb

1. (tr) to transport (a load) by means of a telpherage

Other Word Forms

• telpheric
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of telpher

1880–85; alteration of telephore. See tele- ¹, -phore

Example Sentences

The speed of the telpher may be readily regulated by the introduction of a resistance between any section of the line and the supply of electricity.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 7, Slice 3 "Convention" to "Copyright" by Various

In capacity to handle material, one telpher was about equal to one derrick.

From Transactions of the American Society of Civil Engineers, vol. LXVIII, Sept. 1910 The Site of the Terminal Station. Paper No. 1157 by Clarke, George C.

Thus the telpher is a self-propelled electric carrier running on a mono-rail, which, according to the conditions, may be a steel rail or a steel cable.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 7, Slice 3 "Convention" to "Copyright" by Various

The telpher carries a small trolley sheave or bow which serves to collect the current from a trolley wire stretched a little above the rail.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 7, Slice 3 "Convention" to "Copyright" by Various

The telpher itself consists of a light two-wheeled truck, carrying the driving motors, which, to avoid gearing or other complicated mechanism, are usually coupled directly to the axles of the telpher.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 7, Slice 3 "Convention" to "Copyright" by Various