t-y-p-e-w-r-i-t-e-r
TYPEWRITER is a mechanical or electronic device with keys that, when pressed, cause characters to be printed on paper. It was the primary tool for creating written documents before computers.
18
Points in Scrabble
Base tile values • No multipliers applied
TYPEWRITER is a mechanical or electromechanical machine for writing characters. By pressing keys, typists caused hammers to strike an inked ribbon, transferring ink to paper. Invented in the 1860s, typewriters revolutionized business communication and creative writing until personal computers largely replaced them in the 1980s. The standard typewriter keyboard layout, QWERTY, was designed to prevent jamming by separating commonly used letter pairs. Typewriters ranged from portable models to heavy office machines. Electric typewriters, introduced in the 1920s, reduced the physical effort required for typing.Key features of typewriters:
The word typewriter is a straightforward compound of "type" + "writer," first recorded in 1868. "Type" comes from Latin typus and Greek typos, meaning "impression, figure, or model." This referred to the raised letters that made impressions on paper. "Writer" derives from Old English wrītan, originally meaning "to scratch, draw, or inscribe." The combination perfectly describes the machine's function: a device that writes using type. Interestingly, "typewriter" initially referred to both the machine and the person who operated it (now called a "typist"). The phrase "the typewriter in the office" could mean either the machine or the secretary. By the 1880s, the human operator became known as a "typist" to avoid confusion. The term spawned related words: typewriting (the act), typescript (the product), and typewritten (the adjective).
•"Typewriter" is the longest common English word that can be typed using only the top row of QWERTY keys
•The QWERTY layout was designed in 1873 to slow typists down and prevent key jams
•Mark Twain was the first author to submit a typewritten manuscript (Life on the Mississippi, 1883)
•The last typewriter factory in the world closed in 2011 in Mumbai, India
"She found her grandmother's old typewriter in the attic, still in working condition."
"The distinctive click-clack of the typewriter filled the newsroom."
"Many writers still prefer the tactile feedback of a typewriter to modern keyboards."
Similar writing machines
Word processor
Electronic typing device
Keyboard
Modern input device
Stenograph
Court reporting machine
Teletype
Telegraph printer
Other writing implements
Computer
Digital replacement
Printer
Output device
Pen
Manual writing tool
Pencil
Erasable writing tool
Verb Form
typewrite
She would typewrite her novels.
Past Tense
typewritten
The letter was typewritten.
Person Who Types
typist
The typist worked quickly.
Related Terms
Purely mechanical
Powered assistance
Compact travel model
Shorter words within TYPEWRITER:
The typewriter transformed office work and creative writing. Christopher Latham Sholes patented the first commercially successful typewriter in 1868. It democratized writing, allowing faster document creation than handwriting. The typewriter enabled the rise of professional typists, predominantly women, changing workplace dynamics and creating new career opportunities.
Typewriters became synonymous with writers and journalists. The image of an author at a typewriter - cigarette burning, keys clacking - became iconic. Famous writers like Ernest Hemingway, Jack Kerouac, and Hunter S. Thompson were inseparable from their typewriters. Some modern writers still use them, claiming the mechanical process enhances creativity.
From purely mechanical devices to electric models with correction tape, typewriters evolved significantly. IBM's Selectric with its revolutionary typing ball dominated offices in the 1960s-70s. Word processors in the late 1970s began the transition to digital, but typewriters remained common until personal computers became affordable in the 1990s.
Typewriter vs. Typist
Machine vs. person who types
Typewrite vs. Type
Specific to typewriter vs. general typing
One word
Always written as single compound
Other valuable technology and office terms in Scrabble
Total base points: 18 (Scrabble)
Vowels: 3 | Consonants: 7
Practice unscrambling letters to find more high-scoring words like TYPEWRITER