Origin: Greek prefix tele-
Telephony has 2 different meanings across 1 category:
The act of sound transmission via the electromagnetic spectrum.
"Telephony enables remote communication by transmitting voice signals through the air using radio waves rather than physical wires."
In plain English: Telephony is the system that lets people talk to each other over long distances using phones.
"The company invested heavily in upgrading its telephony system to improve call quality for remote workers."
Usage: Telephony refers to the general system or industry of telephone communication rather than individual calls. Use this term when discussing technology, infrastructure, or services like mobile networks instead of specific conversations.
Telephony comes from combining the word telephone with the suffix -y to indicate a system or practice. It entered English as a way to describe the technology of making long-distance calls over wires.