Small speakers designed to be worn on or in the ears for private listening to audio. Personal audio devices that convert electrical signals to sound waves.
Compound of 'ear' (Old English 'ēare') and 'phone' (from Greek 'phone' meaning sound, voice). The combination reflects the device's function of bringing sound directly to the ear.
The word 'earphones' beautifully demonstrates technological compound formation - taking the body part plus the Greek root for sound to create a perfectly descriptive term. It's functional etymology that immediately explains the device's purpose.
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