Phone
late 19th century: abbreviation of telephone.
wiktionary
Clipping of telephone; attested by 1884.
From Ancient Greek φωνή(phōnḗ, “sound”).
etymonline
phone (n.1)
by 1878 [Des Moines Register, May 16], colloquial shortening of telephone (n.), "generally applied to the receiver, but sometimes to the whole apparatus" [Century Dictionary, 1895]. Phone book "publication listing telephone numbers and their associated names" is by 1920; phone booth "small enclosure or stall provided with a public pay-telephone" is by 1906; phone bill "statement of charges for telephone service" is by 1901; phone number (short for telephone number) is by 1906.
phone (v.)
"to call on the telephone," 1884, colloquial, from phone (n.). Related: Phoned; phoning.
phone (n.2)
"elementary sound of a spoken language, one of the primary elements of utterance," 1866, from Greek phōnē "sound, voice" (from PIE root *bha- (2) "to speak, tell, say").
