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Synonyms

copyist

American  
[kop-ee-ist] / ˈkɒp i ɪst /

noun

  1. a person who transcribes copies, especially of documents.

  2. an imitator.


copyist British  
/ ˈkɒpɪɪst /

noun

  1. a person who makes written copies; transcriber

  2. a person who imitates or copies

"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

Etymology

Origin of copyist

First recorded in 1690–1700; copy + -ist

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.

See Examples For:

To support himself in New York, he served as an assistant and copyist for the composer and critic Virgil Thomson, who paid the young man $20 a week and gave him lessons in orchestration.

From Washington Post Nov. 18, 2022

Either way, I thought it was a work of beauty and genius, especially after getting to study the music up close as I proofread parts of the score for the show’s copyist.

From New York Times Jul. 28, 2021

A woman develops a special bond with composer Ludwig van Beethoven while working as his copyist.

From Los Angeles Times Jul. 26, 2019

Paderni was a painter and copyist from Rome, who had come to Herculaneum to reproduce some of the villa’s wall paintings.

From The New Yorker Nov. 16, 2015

That must have been a strenuous season for the copyist, for Sainte-Beuve read at a prodigious rate, showing impatience at any delay, and still greater impatience at any proposed alteration.

From Shelburne Essays, Third Series by More, Paul Elmer

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