foolscap

[foolz-kap]

noun

1. a type of inexpensive writing paper, especially legal-size, lined, yellow sheets, bound in tablet form.

2. Chiefly British.,  a size of drawing or printing paper, 13.5 × 17 inches (34 × 43 centimeters). cap., fcp.

3. Also called foolscap octavo. a size of book, about 4.25 × 6.75 inches (11 × 17 centimeters), untrimmed.

4. Also called foolscap quarto. Chiefly British.,  a size of book, about 6.75 × 8.5 inches (17 × 22 centimeters) untrimmed.

5. fool's cap.

foolscap

/ ˈfuːlzˌkæp /

noun

1. a size of writing or printing paper, 13 1/ 2 by 17 inches or 13 1/ 4 by 16 1/ 2 inches

2. a book size, 4 1/ 4 by 6 3/ 4 inches ( foolscap octavo ) or (chiefly Brit) 6 3/ 4 by 8 1/ 2 inches ( foolscap quarto )

3. a variant spelling of fool's cap

Word History and Origins

Origin of foolscap¹

First recorded in 1690–1700; so called from the watermark of a fool's cap formerly used on such paper

Word History and Origins

Origin of foolscap¹

C17: see _fool ¹ , _cap ; so called from the watermark formerly used on this kind of paper

Example Sentences

Against this tech-inflected landscape, Thomas Harding’s more than serviceable new biography of George Weidenfeld, long a force of letters in England and briefly in the United States, floats as if on stained foolscap.

Read more on New York Times

It consists of calculations etched largely in ink on yellowed leaves of foolscap and squared paper, with 26 pages in Einstein’s handwriting, 25 pages in Besso’s and three containing entries from both scientists.

Read more on Washington Post

The map runs to sixteen laminated foolscap pages, or about ten square feet, when I tile the pages together.

Read more on The New Yorker

In the drawer of her bedside locker, she kept a foolscap notebook with marbled cardboard covers.

Read more on Literature

I pulled out a new nib and my box of good glossy foolscap paper reserved for special occasions.

Read more on Literature