noun
public telephone; payphone
Archaic term for a public payphone. Modern Japanese uses 公衆電話 (こうしゅうでんわ) instead.
See also: 公衆電話
昔は街角に自動電話がよくあった。
In the old days, there used to be many public telephones on street corners.
Modern standard term for a public payphone. 自動電話 is its archaic predecessor.
Compound of 自動 (automatic) and 電話 (telephone), referring to early automated public telephones. The exact historical derivation is uncertain.