carbon copy
4
3.0
- noun
- /ˈkɑrbən ˈkɑpi/
- Archaic
:
copia carbón
- Before sending the letter, she created a carbon copy to ensure she had a backup.
Examples
-
The carbon-copy form shows thick, smudgy, illegible entries.
Fiction book (1996) -
Now, there was a carbon copy of the original letter.
-
I made a carbon copy for the kids.
-
Is this new problem a carbon copy of the original one?
Blog text (27) -
My bank still offers carbon copy checkbooks.
Blog text (18) -
The yellow carbon copy of the receipt that had been given to the customer had the date and the order, 1 DOZ.
Fiction book (1996) -
I was just checking the files and I came across this carbon copy of an inquiry he sent to Persian Gulf command.
-
A week later, I found the carbon copy of our math test in one of the school's wastepaper bins.
Fiction book (1992) -
I made a carbon copy of the report to keep for my records.
-
He handed me a carbon copy of the original document for my reference.
Synonyms
55
3.2
A copy that is exactly the same as the original
21
6.0
A copy of a document made using carbon paper
19
1.0
A copy of a document or picture made by a copy machine
6
4.0
A copy of something made to look exactly like the original
A copy of a document made with a photocopier
How Modern
Surface Forms
Morphology
The noun combines 'carbon' (carbon paper) with 'copy' (a duplicate), so the meaning 'a duplicate produced using carbon paper' is directly derivable from its parts. This noun–noun compounding is compositional and common across languages, so a B1 learner who knows both constituent meanings would readily infer the MWE.
Etymology
Carbon copy comes from old office work when people put a thin sheet of carbon paper between an original and a blank page so the writing left a second copy underneath. That's why carbon copy now means 'an exact duplicate'.