Where does “photocopy” come from?
Photocopy combines English photo- from Ancient Greek φῶς meaning light with English copy from Middle English copy, ultimately from Latin copia meaning abundance.
photocopy (English): A copy made using a photocopier; To make a copy...
Definitions
- A copy made using a photocopier; To make a copy...
Ancestry of “photocopy”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | copy | The result of copying; an identical duplicate of... |
| 2 | Middle English | copy | — |
| 3 | Old French | copie | abundance, plenty; transcript, copy |
| 4 | Medieval Latin | copia | reproduction, transcript; copy; supply |
| 5 | Latin | cōpia | supply, abundance, copiousness, wealth, riches |
| 6 | Latin | coopia | — |
| 7 | Latin | co- | allomorph of con- |
| 8 | Latin | cōn- | Used in compounds to indicate a being or bringing together of several objects |
| 9 | Latin | cum | with, along with; at; -fold |
| 10 | Old Latin | com | Alternative form of cum |
| 11 | Proto-Italic | kom | with, along, at |
| 12 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱóm | beside, near, by, with |
| 13 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱe | Deictic particle, here; Post-positional... |
| 14 | Middle English | kyt | — |
| 15 | German | kitt | putty certain kinds of cement used for fixing e.g. window panes |
| 16 | Old High German | kuti | — |
| 17 | Proto-West Germanic | kwidu | gum, resin |
| 18 | Proto-Germanic | kweduz | resin |
| 19 | Proto-Indo-European | gʷet- | resin, gum; to say, speak |
| 20 | Proto-Indo-European | gū- | to bend; curve; arch; vault; to bow, bend, arch,... |