television

The word “television” means a device with a screen and speaker that receives and displays broadcast pictures and sound. In plain terms, either the physical TV set, or the whole broadcasting medium/industry.

“Television” is pronounced TEH-lih-vih-zhuhn (/ˈtɛlɪˌvɪʒən/ in IPA).

Here is “television” used in a sentence: “They bought a new television for the living room.”

Words with a similar meaning to “television” include boob tube, cultural barbiturate, electric tit, electronic babysitter, glass teat and goggle box.

“Television” is a noun.

The word “television” dates back to around 1900. From tele- ("far") and vision, first recorded around 1900, likely influenced by a paper on the concept by Constantin Perskyi presented in Paris that same year.

“Television” is a very common word in modern English, usually learned at around the A1 level.

“Television” has 2 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: a device with a screen and speaker that receives and displays broadcast pictures and sound.

A television has a built-in tuner to receive broadcast channels and includes speakers, so it works on its own. A monitor is a display only — no tuner or speakers — designed to show output from a connected device like a computer. That reception ability is the key difference, though many modern screens blur the line.

There is no single inventor. Scottish engineer John Logie Baird demonstrated the first working mechanical television in the 1920s, while American Philo Farnsworth developed the first fully electronic system in 1927. Modern televisions descend mainly from the electronic approach, built on the work of several inventors over decades.

A smart TV connects to the internet and runs apps for streaming services, web browsing, and more, much like a computer. A regular television only displays broadcast or connected-device signals. With a smart TV you can watch online content directly; a regular set needs an external streaming box to do the same.

The word combines the Greek 'tele,' meaning 'far,' with the Latin 'visio,' meaning 'sight' — literally 'seeing at a distance.' It describes the device's core purpose: showing pictures transmitted from far away. The term dates from the early twentieth century, when the technology was first being developed.