phonograph

Where does the word "phonograph" come from? It comes from Greek phone, and was adopted directly into English (1877).

Phonograph’s story begins in Greek: phone meant “sound, voice.” Sound, voice, combined with graphein (to write). It reached English by 1877 as phonograph. Coined by Thomas Edison from Greek phone (sound) and graphein (to write) for his sound-recording device. Today, phonograph means an early device for recording and reproducing sound.

1. Stage 1 · Greek · ancient phone "sound, voice", sound, voice, combined with graphein (to write).
2. Stage 2 · English · 1877 phonograph "sound-writer, a sound-recording device", coined by Thomas Edison from Greek phone (sound) and graphein (to write) for his sound-recording device.