Editing Telegraphy (section)

== Terminology ==

The word ''telegraph'' (from [[Ancient Greek]]: {{lang|grc|τῆλε}} ({{wikt-lang|grc-Latn|tele-|têle}}) 'at a distance' and {{lang|grc|γράφειν}} ({{wikt-lang|grc-Latn|-graphy|gráphein}}) 'to write') was coined by the French inventor of the [[semaphore telegraph]], [[Claude Chappe]], who also coined the word ''[[semaphore]]''.<ref>{{cite book| last = Shectman| first = Jonathan| title = Groundbreaking Scientific Experiments, Inventions, and Discoveries of the 18th Century| publisher = Bloomsbury Academic| date = 2003| page = 172| isbn = 9780313320156 }}</ref>

A telegraph is a device for transmitting and receiving messages over long distances, i.e., for telegraphy. The word ''telegraph'' alone generally refers to an [[electrical telegraph]]. Wireless telegraphy is transmission of messages over radio with telegraphic codes.

Contrary to the extensive definition used by Chappe, Morse argued that the term ''telegraph'' can strictly be applied only to systems that transmit ''and'' record messages at a distance. This is to be distinguished from ''semaphore'', which merely transmits messages. Smoke signals, for instance, are to be considered semaphore, not telegraph. According to Morse, telegraph dates only from 1832 when [[Pavel Schilling]] invented one of the earliest electrical telegraphs.<ref>Samuel F. B. Morse, [https://books.google.com/books?id=rGgPAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA7 ''Examination of the Telegraphic Apparatus and the Processes in Telegraphy''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221027083252/https://books.google.com/books?id=rGgPAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA7 |date=27 October 2022 }}, pp. 7–8, Philp & Solomons 1869 {{OCLC|769828711}}.</ref>

A telegraph message sent by an [[electrical telegraph]] operator or telegrapher using [[Morse code]] (or a [[printing telegraph]] operator using plain text) was known as a telegram. A cablegram was a message sent by a submarine telegraph cable,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cablegram|title=Cablegram – Definition of cablegram by Merriam-Webster|work=merriam-webster.com|date=27 July 2023 }}</ref> often shortened to "cable" or "wire". The suffix -gram is derived from ancient Greek: {{lang|grc|γραμμα}} ({{wikt-lang|grc-Latn|-gram|gramma}}), meaning something written, i.e. telegram means something written at a distance and cablegram means something written via a cable, whereas telegraph implies the process of writing at a distance.

Later, a Telex was a message sent by a [[Teleprinter#Telex|Telex]] network, a switched network of [[teleprinter]]s similar to a telephone network.

A [[wirephoto]] or wire picture was a newspaper picture that was sent from a remote location by a [[Fax|facsimile telegraph]]. A diplomatic telegram, also known as a [[diplomatic cable]], is a confidential communication between a [[diplomatic mission]] and the [[Foreign minister|foreign ministry]] of its parent country.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/11/29/10/1796-memos-us-embassy-manila-wikileaks-cablegate |title=1,796 memos from US embassy in Manila in WikiLeaks 'Cablegate' |date=29 November 2010 |access-date=29 November 2010 |publisher=[[ABS–CBN Corporation]]}}</ref><ref>Definition of "cable", {{cite book |title=The Macquarie Dictionary |edition=3rd |year=1997 |publisher=Macquarie Library |location=Australia |isbn=978-0-949757-89-0 |quote=(n.) 4. a telegram sent abroad, especially by submarine cable. (v.) 9. to send a message by submarine cable.}}</ref> These continue to be called telegrams or cables regardless of the method used for transmission.