Ancient Greek word root · Number & Measure

tele-: far, distant

tele- is an Ancient Greek root meaning “far, distant”. Learn its variants and explore 13 connected words.

Meaning and variants

Meaning: far, distant

Root forms: tele-

Source word: τῆλε — far off, afar, far away

Word family and examples

• television

  An electronic communication medium that allows the transmission of real-time visual images, and often sound.

• telephone

  a device that transmits speech over distances by converting sound to signals

• telegraph

  a system for transmitting messages over distance by signals along a wire

• telescope

  an optical instrument for making distant objects appear nearer

• telegram

  A message transmitted by telegraph.

• telecommunication

  The science and technology of the communication of messages over a distance using electric, electronic or electromagnetic impulses.

• telecast

  To broadcast by television.

• telemetry

  the automatic measurement and transmission of data from remote sources

• telepathy

  The capability to communicate directly by psychic means; the sympathetic affection of one mind by the thoughts, feelings, or emotions of another at a distance, without communication through the ordinary channels of sensation.

• telegraphy

  Any process for transmitting arbitrarily long messages over a long distance using a code, especially by means of electrified wires or radio waves using Morse code.

• telex

  A network of teletypes.

• teleconference

  A telephone conference, an arranged phone call between more than two parties.

• telehealth

  Healthcare facilitated by telecommunication technology, typically allowing a doctor or other healthcare professional to interact with a patient visually and audibly.

Root connections help with vocabulary recall. They are not a complete etymological history, and a spelling match alone does not prove a relationship.

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