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  • postscript
    postscript
    noun
    a paragraph, phrase, etc., added to a letter that has already been concluded and signed by the writer.
  • PostScript
    PostScript
    a page description language using scalable fonts that can be printed on a variety of appropriately equipped devices, including laser printers and professional-quality imagesetters.
Synonyms

postscript

1 American  
[pohst-skript, pohs-] / ˈpoʊstˌskrɪpt, ˈpoʊs- /

noun

  1. a paragraph, phrase, etc., added to a letter that has already been concluded and signed by the writer.

  2. any addition or supplement, as one appended by a writer to a book to supply further information.


PostScript 2 American  
[pohst-skript, pohs‑] / ˈpoʊstˌskrɪpt, ˈpoʊs‑ /
Trademark.
  1. a page description language using scalable fonts that can be printed on a variety of appropriately equipped devices, including laser printers and professional-quality imagesetters.


postscript British  
/ ˈpəʊsˌskrɪpt, ˈpəʊst- /

noun

  1. a message added at the end of a letter, after the signature

  2. any supplement, as to a document or book

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

Etymology

Origin of postscript

1515–25; < Latin postscrīptum, neuter past participle of postscrībere to write after

Explanation

A postscript is text added at the end of a book or other document. Your textbook is so long that by the time you finish it, you're too exhausted to read the postscript. Postscript comes from the Latin word postscribere, with post meaning after and scribere meaning to write. A postscript especially refers to a note added after the signature of a letter. In this use, it's often abbreviated as P.S. A mother's favorite thing might be getting a letter from her kid at camp that says, "I love you, Mom," especially if there is a postscript adding hugs and kisses, written this way: "P.S. XOXOXOXOX."

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Vocabulary lists containing postscript

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

PostScript, the company’s first piece of software, let computer users print documents just as they appeared on-screen, with graphics and multiple fonts — a task that previously required a trip to a local printing press.

From Seattle Times • Aug. 25, 2023

They founded Adobe in 1982 and created PostScript, a program that helped make small-scale printing feasible for the first time.

From Seattle Times • Aug. 21, 2023

When Xerox executives decided not to release Interpress, a precursor to PostScript, Dr. Geschke and Warnock decided to quit and develop a version of the computer language on their own.

From Washington Post • Apr. 20, 2021

Their first product was Adobe PostScript, the programming language that helped boost the desktop publishing industry.

From The Verge • Apr. 18, 2021

The most common example is, of course, Adobe's PostScript language, but there are many others, such as Xerox InterPress, etc.

From The Jargon File, Version 4.2.2, 20 Aug 2000 by Steele, Guy L.

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