earphone C2+ Topic:General Vocabulary US /ˈɪrˌfoʊn/ UK /ˈɪəˌfəʊn/ See IPA manual Meanings 1 noun a small speaker worn in or over the ear for private listening She slipped one earphone in to take the call discreetly. Thesaurus Synonyms 1 noun · a small speaker worn in or... headphoneearbudearpieceheadset Word family Related forms earphonetelephone Etymology AI details A compound of 'ear' + 'phone' (shortening of 'telephone', from Greek 'phōnē', 'sound, voice'). 'Ear' is from Old English 'ēare'. ēare Old English phōnē Ancient Greek View etymology graph -> Topics General Vocabulary External links Google Images Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary # earphone **Type:** Word **Level:** C2+ **Part of speech:** noun **IPA (US):** /ˈɪrˌfoʊn/ **IPA (UK):** /ˈɪəˌfəʊn/ ## Meanings 1. a small speaker worn in or over the ear for private listening ## Examples - She slipped one earphone in to take the call discreetly. ## Synonyms - headphone - earbud - earpiece - headset ## Related Forms - ear - phone - telephone ## Roots and Affixes - Root: ēare - Root: phōnē ## Etymology A compound of 'ear' + 'phone' (shortening of 'telephone', from Greek 'phōnē', 'sound, voice'). 'Ear' is from Old English 'ēare'. ## AI Etymology Earphone is a compound of 'ear' + 'phone' (shortening of 'telephone', from Greek 'phōnē', 'sound, voice'). 'Ear' is from Old English 'ēare'. The ancestry passes through Old English ēare and Ancient Greek phōnē. In present use as a noun, it means "a small speaker worn in or over the ear for private listening", keeping the historical formation close to the word's ordinary semantic work. As a compound, its meaning is assembled from the two visible parts rather than from an opaque borrowing. Related words include ear, phone, and telephone. ## Topics - General Vocabulary markdown