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You are here: Home / Language / How Did the Radio Get its Name, What Does Radio Mean in Latin, and Where Did the Radio Come From?

How Did the Radio Get its Name, What Does Radio Mean in Latin, and Where Did the Radio Come From?

February 7, 2020 by Karen Hill

The device we call a radio took its name from radio telegraphy.

It was commonly referred to as “wireless” up until World War II when the military preference for radio caused that name to catch on to describe the revolutionary receptacle of sound.

The word radio is derived from radius, Latin for “spoke of a wheel” or “ray of light,” because transmitted sounds travel out in all directions from a center hub like the spokes of a wheel.

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Filed Under: Language

About Karen Hill

Karen Hill is a freelance writer, editor, and columnist. Born in New York, her work has appeared in the Examiner, Yahoo News, Buzzfeed, among others.

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