beeper

English

Etymology

Etymology tree

English beep

Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂

Proto-Indo-European *-os?

Proto-Indo-European *-o-

Proto-Indo-European *-so-

Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂so-

Proto-Indo-European *-yós

Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂s(i)yós

Proto-Italic *-āsijos

Proto-Italic *-āsios

Latin -āriusnom.

Latin -āriusbor.

Proto-Germanic *-ārijaz

Proto-West Germanic *-ārī

Old English -ere

Middle English -ere

▲

Latin -ārius

Old French -ierbor.

Middle English -er

English -er

English beeper

From beep + -er.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈbiːpə/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈbipɚ/
• Rhymes: -iːpə(ɹ)

Noun

beeper (plural beepers)

1. Something that makes a beeping sound.
   1. A simple computer speaker.
      • 1986, Dr. Dobb's journal of software tools for the professional programmer: volume 11, page 53:

        The Controls option enables you to resize and move a currently displayed window, as well as toggle the PC beeper.

   2. A pager (wireless telecommunication device).
      • 1993, “Just Another Day”, in Black Reign, performed by Queen Latifah:

        No stages, front pages, no phones, no beepers

   3. (endearing) A robot.
   4. (furry fandom, informal, endearing) A protogen.
2. (radio, informal) A broadcast interview taking place over the telephone (originally having to include a beeping sound to indicate that it was not a live broadcast).
   • 2009, Keith Oliver, Command Attention: Promoting Your Organization the Marine Corps Way, page 11:

     Radio "beepers" are easy: all you need is a telephone, and you can basically have an overseas conversation with any DJ or radio news director in America.

Derived terms

• backup beeper

Descendants

• → Chinese: BB機 / BB机 (bìbìjī), BP機 / BP机 (bìpìjī)
• → Polish: biper, beeper

Translations

something that makes a beeping sound

• Indonesian: pembunyi bip
• Polish: biper (pl) m

pager — see also pager

• Finnish: hakulaite (fi)
• Indonesian: penyeranta (id), radio panggil (id) (literally “call radio”)
• Italian: cercapersone (it) m
• Māori: pūoho
• Polish: biper (pl) m
• Sicilian: cerca-pirsuna m
• Spanish: bíper (es) m, beeper m
• Turkish: çağrı cihazı (tr)

Polish

Etymology

Etymology tree

English beep

Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂

Proto-Indo-European *-os?

Proto-Indo-European *-o-

Proto-Indo-European *-so-

Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂so-

Proto-Indo-European *-yós

Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂s(i)yós

Proto-Italic *-āsijos

Proto-Italic *-āsios

Latin -āriusnom.

Latin -āriusbor.

Proto-Germanic *-ārijaz

Proto-West Germanic *-ārī

Old English -ere

Middle English -ere

▲

Latin -ārius

Old French -ierbor.

Middle English -er

English -er

English beeperubor.

Polish beeper

Unadapted borrowing from English beeper.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbi.pɛr/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ipɛr
• Syllabification: bee‧per

Noun

beeper m inan

1. (electronics, telecommunications) alternative spelling of biper

Declension

Declension of beeper

	singular	plural
nominative	beeper	beepery
genitive	beepera	beeperów
dative	beeperowi	beeperom
accusative	beeper	beepery
instrumental	beeperem	beeperami
locative	beeperze	beeperach
vocative	beeperze	beepery

Further reading

• “beeper”, in Wielki słownik języka polskiego‎^[1] (in Polish), Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• “beeper”, in Polish dictionaries at PWN‎^[2] (in Polish)

See also: biper

Spanish

Etymology

Etymology tree

English beep

Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂

Proto-Indo-European *-os?

Proto-Indo-European *-o-

Proto-Indo-European *-so-

Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂so-

Proto-Indo-European *-yós

Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂s(i)yós

Proto-Italic *-āsijos

Proto-Italic *-āsios

Latin -āriusnom.

Latin -āriusbor.

Proto-Germanic *-ārijaz

Proto-West Germanic *-ārī

Old English -ere

Middle English -ere

▲

Latin -ārius

Old French -ierbor.

Middle English -er

English -er

English beeperubor.

Spanish beeper

Unadapted borrowing from English beeper.

Noun

beeper m (plural beepers)

1. (Latin America) alternative form of bíper

Usage notes

• According to Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) prescriptions, unadapted foreign words should be written in italics in a text printed in roman type, and vice versa, and in quotation marks in a manuscript text or when italics are not available. In practice, this RAE prescription is not always followed.

Further reading

• “beeper”, in Diccionario de americanismos [Dictionary of Americanisms] (in Spanish), Association of Academies of the Spanish Language [Spanish: Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española], 2010