television (English)

Where does "television" come from?

The English noun 'television' was first attested in 1900[1], formed from the combining element 'tele-' and the word 'vision'[1][3], likely influenced by the French 'télévision'[1] introduced by Constantin Perskyi in a paper presented at a Paris conference that same year[1][3]. The latter part, 'vision', traces back through Middle English[7], Old French[4][5], and Latin 'vīsiō'[4][5][6], ultimately deriving from the Proto-Indo-European root '*weyd-', meaning 'to see'[8][9].

Open questions

The exact influence of the French 'télévision' on the coining of the English term is described as probable rather than certain. [1]

Full etymology tree

television (English), 'An electronic communication medium that allows the transmission of real-time visual images, and often sound.'
- compound tele- (English), 'over a distance'
- compound vision (English), 'The sense or ability of sight.'
  - inherited visioun (Middle English), 'A vision; an illusory image, apparition or mirage.'
    - inherited visioun (Anglo-Norman)
      - inherited vision (Old French), 'vision (supernatural sensory experience)'
        inherited visio (Latin), 'seeing, sight, vision, view'
        derived visus (Latin), 'having been seen'
        inherited *wissos (Proto-Italic)
        inherited *widtós (Proto-Indo-European), 'seen'
        derived *weyd- (Proto-Indo-European), 'to see'
- influence télévision (French), 'television'

Ancestors

*weyd- (Proto-Indo-European)
tele- (English)
vision (English)
télévision (French)

Descendants and derived words

talibicen (Bakung)
টেলিভিশন (Bengali)
দূরদর্শন (Bengali)
တယ်လီဗီးရှင်း (Burmese)
televisió (Catalan)
ޓެލެވިޒަން (Dhivehi)
ambush television (English)
analog television (English)
antitelevision (English)
appointment television (English)
black-and-white television (English)
breakfast television (English)

Sources

Updated August 2026

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Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris