facsimile

American  

[fak-sim-uh-lee] / fækˈsɪm ə li /

noun

1. an exact copy, as of a book, painting, or manuscript.

   Synonyms:

   duplicate, likeness, replica

2. Also called fax.  Telecommunications.

   1. a method or device for transmitting documents, drawings, photographs, or the like, by means of radio or telephone for exact reproduction elsewhere.

   2. an image transmitted by such a method.

3. dropout.

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verb (used with object)

facsimiled, facsimileing

1. to reproduce in facsimile; make a facsimile of.

   Synonyms:

   duplicate

adjective

1. Telecommunications. Also

   1. (of an image) copied by means of facsimile.

      facsimile mail.

   2. (of a method or device) used to produce a facsimile.

      facsimile transmission.

facsimile British  

/ fækˈsɪmɪlɪ /

noun

1. 1. an exact copy or reproduction

   2. ( as modifier )

      a facsimile publication

2. an image produced by facsimile transmission

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verb

1. (tr) to make an exact copy of

Etymology

Origin of facsimile

1655–65; earlier fac simile make the like, equivalent to Latin fac (imperative of facere ) + simile, noun use of neuter of similis like; see simile

Explanation

A facsimile is a copy or reproduction of something. Many parents hope their children will be facsimiles of themselves; many children have other plans in mind. Facsimile comes from two Latin roots: facere, meaning "to make," and simile, meaning "like." Fax machines are so called because they copy and transmit facsimiles of documents, or faxes for short, over phone lines. Grammatically speaking, photocopiers also make facsimiles, but oddly enough those are referred to as copies — not faxes.

Example Sentences

The British Museum is collaborating with Rizzoli Books in New York on “Shakespeare’s First Folio: 400th Anniversary Facsimile Edition,” contained within a slipcase cover.

From Seattle Times • Oct. 23, 2023

A current exhibition, “Theaster Gates: Facsimile Cabinet of Women Origin Stories,” includes nearly 3,000 images from the Johnson Publishing Company archive.

From New York Times • Mar. 12, 2019

Facsimile of an Engraving on Wood, from the Cosmographie Universelle of Munster, folio, Basle, 1552.

From Scientific American • Sep. 7, 2013

Facsimile of part of Judith Weir's composition for Judith Serota's book.

From The Guardian • Jun. 8, 2012

With Two Portraits and Facsimile of a page of the "Essay on Roast Pig."

From The Ivory Gate, a new edition by Besant, Walter, Sir

Related Words

• carbon copy
• likeness
• photocopy
• replica