Phoning

/ˈfoʊnɪŋ/ verb

Definition

calling someone using a telephone to speak with them remotely.

Etymology

From Greek 'phone' meaning 'sound' or 'voice,' combined with the suffix '-ing' to form the present participle. First used as a term when the telephone was invented in the 1870s.

Kelly Says

Alexander Graham Bell didn't actually invent the phone alone—Italian inventor Antonio Meucci patented the first working telephone design in 1849, but his patent expired before he could capitalize on it, so Bell got the credit.

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