Adjacent Words

Copy definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

COPY, n. [See Cope and Cuff.] Literally, a likeness, or resemblance of any kind. Hence,
1. A writing like another writing; a transcript from an original; or a book printed according to the original; hence, any single book , or set of books, containing a composition resembling the original work; as the copy of a deed, or of a bond; a copy of Addisons works; a copy of the laws; a copy of the scriptures.
2. The form of a picture or statue according to the original; the imitation or likeness of any figure, draught, or almost any object.
3. An original work; the autograph; the archetype. Hence, that which is to be imitated in writing or printing. Let the child write according to the copy. The copy is in the hands of the printer. Hence, a pattern or example for imitation. His virtues are an excellent copy for imitation.
4. Abundance. [L.]
COPY, v.t.
1. To write, print or engrave, according to an original; to form a like work or composition by writing, printing or engraving; to transcribe; often followed by out, but the use is not elegant.
The men of Hezekiah copied certain proverbs of Solomon.
2. To paint or draw according to an original.
3. To form according to a model, as in architecture.
4. To imitate or attempt to resemble; to follow an original or pattern, in manners or course of life. Copy the Savior in his humility and obedience.
COPY, v.i. To imitate or endeavor to be like; to do any thing in imitation of something else. A painter copies from the life. An obedient child copies after his parent.
They never fail, when they copy, to follow the bad as well as the good.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a reproduction of a written record (e.g. of a legal or school record) [syn: transcript, copy]
2: a thing made to be similar or identical to another thing; "she made a copy of the designer dress"; "the clone was a copy of its ancestor"
3: matter to be printed; exclusive of graphical materials [syn: copy, written matter]
4: material suitable for a journalistic account; "catastrophes make good copy" v
1: copy down as is; "The students were made to copy the alphabet over and over"
2: reproduce someone's behavior or looks; "The mime imitated the passers-by"; "Children often copy their parents or older siblings" [syn: imitate, copy, simulate]
3: reproduce or make an exact copy of; "replicate the cell"; "copy the genetic information" [syn: replicate, copy]
4: make a replica of; "copy that drawing"; "re-create a picture by Rembrandt" [syn: copy, re-create]

Merriam Webster's

I. noun (plural copies) Etymology: Middle English copie, from Anglo-French, from Medieval Latin copia, from Latin, abundance — more at copious Date: 14th century 1. an imitation, transcript, or reproduction of an original work (as a letter, a painting, a table, or a dress) 2. one of a series of especially mechanical reproductions of an original impression; also an individual example of such a reproduction 3. archaic something to be imitated ; model 4. a. matter to be set especially for printing b. something considered printable or newsworthy — used without an article <remarks that make good copy — Norman Cousins> c. text especially of an advertisement 5. duplicate 1a <a copy of a computer file> <a copy of a gene> Synonyms: see reproduction II. verb (copied; copying) Date: 14th century transitive verb 1. to make a copy or duplicate of <copy a document> <copy a computer file> 2. to model oneself on intransitive verb 1. to make a copy 2. to undergo copying <the document did not copy well> Synonyms: copy, imitate, mimic, ape, mock mean to make something so that it resembles an existing thing. copy suggests duplicating an original as nearly as possible <copied the painting and sold the fake as an original>. imitate suggests following a model or a pattern but may allow for some variation <imitate a poet's style>. mimic implies a close copying (as of voice or mannerism) often for fun, ridicule, or lifelike imitation <pupils mimicking their teacher>. ape may suggest presumptuous, slavish, or inept imitating of a superior original <American fashion designers aped their European colleagues>. mock usually implies imitation with derision <mocking a vain man's pompous manner>.

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. & v. --n. (pl. -ies) 1 a thing made to imitate or be identical to another. 2 a single specimen of a publication or issue (ordered twenty copies). 3 a matter to be printed. b material for a newspaper or magazine article (scandals make good copy). c the text of an advertisement. 4 a a model to be copied. b a page written after a model (of penmanship). --v. (-ies, -ied) 1 tr. a make a copy of. b (often foll. by out) transcribe. 2 intr. make a copy, esp. clandestinely. 3 tr. (foll. by to) send a copy of (a letter) to a third party. Phrases and idioms: copy-edit edit (copy) for printing. copy editor a person who edits copy for printing. copy-typist a person who makes typewritten transcripts of documents. Etymology: ME f. OF copie, copier, ult. f. L copia abundance (in med.L = transcript)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Copy Cop"y (k[o^]p"[y^]), n.; pl. Copies (-[i^]z). [F. copie, fr. L. copia abundance, number, LL. also, a transcript; co- + the root of opes riches. See Opulent, and cf. Copious.] 1. An abundance or plenty of anything. [Obs.] She was blessed with no more copy of wit, but to serve his humor thus. --B. Jonson. 2. An imitation, transcript, or reproduction of an original work; as, a copy of a letter, an engraving, a painting, or a statue. I have not the vanity to think my copy equal to the original. --Denham. 3. An individual book, or a single set of books containing the works of an author; as, a copy of the Bible; a copy of the works of Addison. 4. That which is to be imitated, transcribed, or reproduced; a pattern, model, or example; as, his virtues are an excellent copy for imitation. Let him first learn to write, after a copy, all the letters. --Holder. 5. (print.) Manuscript or printed matter to be set up in type; as, the printers are calling for more copy. 6. A writing paper of a particular size. Same as Bastard. See under Paper. 7. Copyhold; tenure; lease. [Obs.] --Shak. Copy book, a book in which copies are written or printed for learners to imitate. Examined copies (Law), those which have been compared with the originals. Exemplified copies, those which are attested under seal of a court. Certified or Office copies, those which are made or attested by officers having charge of the originals, and authorized to give copies officially. --Abbot. Syn: Imitation; transcript; duplicate; counterfeit.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Copy Cop"y, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Copied; p. pr. & vb. n. Copying.] [Cf. F. copir, fr. LL. copiare. See Copy, n.] 1. To make a copy or copies of; to write; print, engrave, or paint after an original; to duplicate; to reproduce; to transcribe; as, to copy a manuscript, inscription, design, painting, etc.; -- often with out, sometimes with off. I like the work well; ere it be demanded (As like enough it will), I'd have it copied. --Shak. Let this be copied out, And keep it safe for our remembrance. --Shak. 2. To imitate; to attempt to resemble, as in manners or course of life. We copy instinctively the voices of our companions, their accents, and their modes of pronunciation. --Stewart.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Copy Cop"y, v. i. 1. To make a copy or copies; to imitate. 2. To yield a duplicate or transcript; as, the letter did not copy well. Some . . . never fail, when they copy, to follow the bad as well as the good things. --Dryden.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(copies, copying, copied) Frequency: The word is one of the 1500 most common words in English. 1. If you make a copy of something, you produce something that looks like the original thing. The reporter apparently obtained a copy of Steve's resignation letter... = duplicate N-COUNT: usu N of n 2. If you copy something, you produce something that looks like the original thing. She never participated in obtaining or copying any classified documents for anyone. ...top designers, whose work has been widely copied... He copied the chart from a book. VERB: V n, V n, V n from n 3. If you copy a piece of writing, you write it again exactly. He would allow John slyly to copy his answers to impossibly difficult algebra questions... He copied the data into a notebook... We're copying from textbooks because we don't have enough to go round. VERB: V n, V n into n, V from n • Copy out means the same as copy. He wrote the title on the blackboard, then copied out the text sentence by sentence... 'Did he leave a phone number?'—'Oh, yes.' She copied it out for him. PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), V n P 4. If you copy a person or what they do, you try to do what they do or try to be like them, usually because you admire them or what they have done. Children can be seen to copy the behaviour of others whom they admire or identify with... ...the coquettish gestures she had copied from actresses in soap operas. = imitate VERB: V n, V n from n • copying Children learn by copying. N-UNCOUNT 5. A copy of a book, newspaper, or CD is one of many that are exactly the same. I bought a copy of 'USA Today' from a street-corner machine... You can obtain a copy for $2 from New York Central Art Supply. N-COUNT: oft N of n 6. In journalism, copy is written material that is ready to be printed or read in a broadcast. (TECHNICAL) ...his ability to write the most lyrical copy in the history of sports television. ...advertising copy. N-UNCOUNT 7. In journalism, copy is news or information that can be used in an article in a newspaper. (TECHNICAL) ...journalists looking for good copy. 8. see also back copy, carbon copy, hard copy

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. n. 1. Transcript. 2. Fac-simile, duplicate. 3. Original, model, pattern, archetype. 4. Manuscript (to be printed). II. v. a. 1. Transcribe, make a transcript of, make a copy of. 2. Imitate, follow as a pattern, pattern after.

Moby Thesaurus

Doppelganger, Photostat, Xerox, abstract, abstraction, act, act a part, act as, act like, act out, actual thing, adopt, affect, agent, altarpiece, alternate, alternative, analogy, ape, appear like, approach, appropriate, approximate, arrangement, article, assume, autograph, back number, backup, be like, be redolent of, bear resemblance, beat, block print, blueprint, borrow, brainchild, bring to mind, brouillon, budget of news, burlesque, call to mind, call up, carbon, carbon copy, cartoon, chalk, change, changeling, charcoal, chart, chorus, clone, collage, collection, color, color print, come again, come close, come near, companion, compare with, comparison, composed matter, composition, computer printout, copy out, correspond, counterfeit, counterpart, crayon, crib, crosshatch, cyclorama, dash off, daub, dead matter, dead ringer, delineate, delineation, depict, deputy, derive from, design, diagram, diptych, ditto, do, do a repeat, do again, do like, do over, document, doodle, double, draft, draw, draw up, drawing, dummy, dupe, duplicate, duplication, ebauche, echo, edit, edited version, edition, effigy, elevation, emulate, enact, enface, engraving, engross, engrossment, equal, equivalent, ersatz, esquisse, essay, evoke, exact counterpart, exact likeness, example, exchange, exclusive, facsimile, fair copy, fake, favor, fellow, fiction, figure, fill-in, final draft, finished version, first draft, flimsy, follow, forge, fresco, geminate, ghost, ghostwriter, go like, graph, ground plan, hatch, hectograph, hoke, hoke up, holograph, homograph, homonym, homophone, house plan, hymnal, hymnbook, ichnography, icon, idem, identical same, idol, illumination, illustration, image, imitate, imitation, impersonate, impress, impression, imprint, infringe, ingeminate, inscribe, instrumental score, issue, knockoff, letter, library, library edition, libretto, likeness, limn, literae scriptae, literary artefact, literary production, literature, live matter, living image, living picture, locum tenens, look like, lucubration, lute tablature, make a recension, make like, make out, make over, make use of, makeshift, manifold, manuscript, masquerade as, match, mate, matter, metaphor, metonymy, microcopy, microfilm, mime, mimeo, mimeograph, mimic, miniature, mirror, mirroring, mock, mock-up, model, montage, mosaic, multigraph, multiply by two, mural, music, music paper, music roll, musical notation, musical score, near, nearly reproduce, news item, next best thing, no other, none other, nonfiction, not tell apart, notation, number, opera, opera score, opus, orchestral score, original, outline, paint, paint a picture, palingenesis, panorama, pantomime, paper, parallel, paraphrase, parchment, parody, parrot, part, partake of, pass for, pattern, pen, pencil, penscript, perform, personate, personnel, phony, photocopy, photograph, piano score, picture, picturize, piece, piece of writing, pinch hitter, pirate, plagiarize, play, play a part, plot, poem, portrait, portray, pose as, pretend to be, print, printed matter, printing, printout, production, profile, projection, proxy, push the pen, put in writing, quadruplicate, quote, re-create, re-creation, re-form, re-formation, reading matter, rebirth, rebuild, rebuilding, recense, recension, reconstitute, reconstitution, reconstruct, reconstruction, record, redesign, redo, redoing, redouble, reduplicate, reduplication, reecho, reedition, reestablish, reestablishment, refashion, refashioning, reflect, reflection, refound, regenerate, regeneration, regenesis, regurgitate, reincarnate, reinstitute, reinstitution, reissue, relief, remake, remaking, remind one of, renascence, renew, renovate, renovation, reorganization, reorganize, repeat, repetition, replacement, replica, replicate, replication, representation, representative, reprint, reprinting, reproduce, reproduction, resemblance, resemble, reserves, reshape, reshaping, restoration, restore, restructure, restructuring, resurrect, resurrection, revise, revision, revival, revive, rewrite, ringer, rough, rubbing, sample, savor of, say again, school edition, scoop, score, scratch, screed, scribe, scrip, script, scrive, scroll, scumble, second draft, second string, secondary, seem like, selfsame, semblance, series, set, shade, shadow, sham, sheet music, short score, sign, similitude, simulacrum, simulate, skeleton, sketch, smack of, songbook, songster, sound like, spares, specimen, spill ink, spit and image, spitting image, spoil paper, spot news, stack up with, stained glass window, stand-in, standing matter, stat, steal, stencil, still life, story, sub, substituent, substitute, substitution, succedaneum, suggest, superscribe, superseder, supplanter, surrogate, symbol, synecdoche, synonym, tablature, table, tableau, take, take after, take off, take on, take over, tapestry, text, the same, the same difference, the written word, third string, tint, token, trace, tracing, trade book, trade edition, transcribe, transcript, transcription, travesty, triplicate, triptych, twin, type, typescript, understudy, utility player, version, very image, very picture, very same, vicar, vice-president, vice-regent, vocal score, volume, wall painting, work, working drawing, write, write down, write out, writing, written music