What does ...---... mean in international morse code?
... is S; --- is O. So, the message reads "SOS", the standard distress message.
Though some people believe this sequence of letters means "Save Our Ship" or even a romantic "Save Our Souls", the truth is that the famous abbreviation doesn't have any literary meaning. It is used because such a sequence of dots and dashes is simple enough and easily recognizable.
Have you known about this fact? Tell us in the comments!
More Info:
en.wikipedia.org
What are your thoughts on this subject?
74 Comments
Douglas Germond
Actually, SOS has no literal translation. It does NOT stand for Save Our Ship, nor does it stand for Save Our Souls, or anything else that is abbreviated. Like the question states, it literally is a distress call, and that's it.
22
Jan 25, 2016 7:11PM

Frank Cowell
Exactly! I believe that this letter sequence was used because it is very easy to send when you are under stress (dit-dit-dit, da-da-da, dit-dit-dit) and very easily recognzed.
12
Jan 27, 2016 2:00PM

Cujo
In my case, it means, "Same old ****".
0
Dec 5, 2020 11:05PM

wandajaneburlinson
Overshadowed it had worked for the Titanic.
0
Sep 22, 2020 1:22PM

Speedy
...only Morse message I know...
2
Sep 10, 2020 7:32AM

Lia Maiava
Yes I knew this, my uncle was a radio Operater and gave me the alphabet morse code when I was young. He was quite pleased with himself that he would always remember it
0
Jul 16, 2020 3:52PM

Cliff Occomore
The Titanic's radio man used the signal to indicate the ship was in distress. Sadly, although it was picked up, it wasn't acted upon quickly as it had only been introduced to replace an older code (which I forget)
0
Jun 15, 2020 3:11AM

Chrissie
Richard D. Boyle, surely it starts
...- ...-
?
0
Jun 12, 2020 6:44AM

Chrissie
Linda Whiting, I was often in distress at school too. As a teacher; seldom as a pupil.
0
Jun 12, 2020 6:41AM

Irene Townsend
Douglas Germond, But even people that have never been to sea or flown in an plane or had a ham radio, knows that SOS is known world wide as the distress signal.
0
Jun 3, 2020 9:59PM

aaustin
Yes, I knew it was the standard meaning for stress. Learned it from reading and then from Captain's school.
0
Apr 19, 2020 10:11AM

Susan Comeaux
As a HAM radio operator, I most definitely know what the code meant as is universal in any spoken language
0
Apr 2, 2020 1:18AM

Donna Smith
Got the correct answer
0
Mar 29, 2020 1:46PM

Cheryl McMeekin
Got it
1
Feb 25, 2020 6:43PM

sutter
my dad and chartered sailboats in SAN Diego I was trained as a radio operator using that signal in stressful moments
0
Feb 17, 2020 7:37PM

wylafreedy
Learned this in Boy Scouts.
1
Dec 28, 2019 3:29AM

cigar
What can I say? I have known SOS to be the standard emergency since Samuel Morse crated the Code back in the nineteenth century.
0
Dec 17, 2019 1:14PM
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