payphone
UK[ˈpeɪfəʊn]US[ˈpeɪfoʊn]
n
A public telephone that is operated by coins or a credit card.
Morpheme Breakdown
pay
phone
pay
to give money
phone
telephone
Etymology
The word 'payphone' is a transparent 20th-century compound formed from the English verb 'pay' and the noun 'phone'. The logic is directly descriptive: a telephone that requires payment for use. 'Pay' originates from the Latin 'pacare', meaning "to pacify or appease," which evolved through Old French into the financial sense of settling a debt. 'Phone' is a clipped form of 'telephone', ultimately from Greek elements meaning "far sound." The compound thus neatly encapsulates the function of a coin-operated public communication device, highlighting its key commercial feature.
Analysis
Structure: pay (to give money) + phone (telephone)
- pay: From Middle English 'payen', from Old French 'paier', from Latin 'pacare' meaning "to pacify, satisfy (a creditor)". In this compound, it functions as a modifier indicating the method of operation (requiring payment).
- phone: A shortening of 'telephone', from Greek 'phōnē' meaning "sound, voice". It functions as the base noun denoting the device.
Examples
She didn't have her mobile, so she had to use a payphone at the train station.
Finding a working payphone is becoming increasingly difficult.
He inserted several coins into the payphone to make the long-distance call.