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copyist

copyist

1 7.7
A person who writes documents or books by hand
  • noun
  • /ˈkɑːpiɪst/
translation icon : copista
  • A copyist may modify a text for ethical or prudential reasons.
  • copyist worked

Pei Shen Kwan, the expert copyist, has moved back to his native China.

Examples

  • Tell Schlemmer I'm going out for my dinner, and when I get back, I expect a copyist to be here.

  • You said you needed a copyist as a matter of great urgency.

  • Pei Shen Kwan, the expert copyist, has moved back to his native China.

  • As for the scribe, he was prized as a pure copyist, whose faithful rendering of a text was considered a mark of observance to authority.

    Academic text (1999)
  • As a worker-writer, moreover, David presents himself as a copyist—i.e., a mere transcriber—of memory.

    Academic text (1990)
  • The copyist carefully transcribed the ancient manuscript by hand.

  • In the library, a talented copyist reproduced historical documents for researchers.

  • The museum hired a skilled copyist to create replicas of valuable texts.

Synonyms

scribe
vscopyist
25 6.2

A person who writes or records information for other people

focuses specifically on reproducing documents by hand rather than broad writing tasks
scrivener
vscopyist
  • Archaic
4 9.9

A person who writes important documents by hand, especially before printing

is the general role of reproducing manuscripts by hand rather than that specific job
transcriptionist
vscopyist
  • Specialized
1 6.3

A person who listens to spoken words or reads handwriting and types it

refers to producing written works by hand rather than typed or digital output
replicator
vscopyist
1 6.5

A person or machine that makes exact copies of objects like paintings

is limited to creating handwritten document versions rather than reproducing physical objects
amanuensis
vscopyist
1 9.9

A person who writes down what someone else says

means making handwritten versions of documents as an independent reproduction task
scriptor
vscopyist
  • Archaic
9.9

A person who copies texts by hand, often in the past

is more narrowly about producing handwritten manuscript reproductions rather than general writing
recreator
vscopyist
7.5

A person who makes something again by copying or restoring the original

is specifically about producing handwritten document reproductions rather than general remaking

Antonyms

220 2.8

A person who makes something new, like a work of art or an invention

How Skilled

calligrapher
3 7.0
scribe
25 6.2
copyist
1 7.7
transcriber
1 6.0

Surface Forms

copyist singular
copyists plural

Morphology

copyist = copy (transparent) = copy + ist

The agentive suffix '-ist' productively forms a noun meaning 'person who copies', so the meaning is directly derived from 'copy'.

Etymology

The word copyist comes from the common word copy ('a written version') and the ending -ist ('a person who does something'), so a copyist is someone who makes written copies, often by hand.