earphone

C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ˈɪrˌfoʊn/ UK /ˈɪəˌfəʊn/ See IPA manual

noun

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 ear phone telephone

Etymology

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

Describing Qualities

# 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
- Describing Qualities

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earphone

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