telephonist

American  

[tuh-lef-uh-nist, tel-uh-foh-] / təˈlɛf ə nɪst, ˈtɛl əˌfoʊ- /

noun

Chiefly British.

1. a telephone switchboard operator.

---

telephonist British  

/ tɪˈlɛfənɪst /

noun

1. Also called (esp US): telephone operator.  a person who operates a telephone switchboard

---

Etymology

Origin of telephonist

First recorded in 1875–80; telephone + -ist

Example Sentences

After war service as a telephonist and a sign painter, she married the Swiss sculptor, René Graetz, and in 1946 they moved to the bombed-out city of Berlin to help build a socialist Germany.

From BBC • Jun. 5, 2022

Mr. Murphy, a retired valet, telephonist and unrepentant hoarder, owns a small house in Dublin’s north inner city, but his eyesight is failing and he cannot afford to pay for home care.

From New York Times • Dec. 24, 2017

Opportunities were limited for women, but you may well have been a secretary or telephonist...

From BBC • May 25, 2012

And there's an awesome cameo by Kevin Eldon as an unintelligible customer support telephonist.

From The Guardian • Jul. 23, 2010

If one showed out of its proper place he shouted to the telephonist and named the delinquent gun, and asked for the lay and fuse-setting to be checked.

From Between the Lines by Cable, Boyd