What does telefacsimile mean?
Telefacsimile is a chiefly historical noun for a communication system that sends a facsimile reproduction of a document or image over ordinary telephone lines. Its name combines telephone and facsimile, reflecting both the means of transmission and the copied appearance of the material. Before email and widespread electronic document exchange, businesses, offices, and hospitals used such devices to send contracts, forms, reports, and images quickly over long distances. The term is formal and somewhat dated today, although it remains useful in discussing the history of facsimile technology. In context, it generally describes the apparatus or transmission method rather than simply a fax message. The word also usefully distinguishes an early hybrid technology from later fully digital document systems. Its unusual name preserves the technology’s original purpose: to carry a faithful copy by means of a network originally designed for voice.
nounA system or device for transmitting documents or images as facsimile reproductions over telephone lines.
- A system or device for transmitting documents or images as facsimile reproductions over telephone lines.
"The contract was sent by telefacsimile before the courier arrived."
"The signed agreement was delivered by telefacsimile to the New York office."
"During the 1980s, a compact telefacsimile machine became common in business offices."
The countable plural is rare because the word is mainly used for a historical communication system or device.
"Several telefacsimiles were installed in the regional offices."
Before email, offices used telefacsimile to send a page across the country in minutes through an ordinary telephone network.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does telefacsimile come from?
Telefacsimile was formed by combining the shortened stem of telephone with facsimile. The telephone element ultimately draws on Greek roots meaning “far” and “sound,” while facsimile comes from Latin facies, meaning “appearance” or “form,” and similis, meaning “like.” The compound came to denote the early transmission of facsimile copies through telephone networks.
Related word forms
How telefacsimile is actually used
Chiefly formal and historical. The term is now dated, though it remains useful when discussing early facsimile technology and its development from voice-oriented telephone networks.
Easily confused with telefacsimile
Telefacsimile denotes the system or device for transmitting facsimile material over telephone lines, whereas telefax more commonly denotes the transmitted message or a particular fax service.