carbon paper

[kahr-buhn pey-per]

noun

1. paper faced with a preparation of carbon or other material, used between two sheets of plain paper in order to reproduce on the lower sheet that which is written or typed on the upper.

2. Also called carbon tissue. a paper for making photographs by the carbon process.

carbon paper

noun

1. Often shortened to: carbon. a thin sheet of paper coated on one side with a dark waxy pigment, often containing carbon, that is transferred by the pressure of writing or of typewriter keys onto the copying surface below

2. another name for carbon tissue

Word History and Origins

Origin of carbon paper¹

First recorded in 1875–80