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duplicate

[noun, adjective doo-pli-kit, dyoo-; verb doo-pli-keyt, dyoo-]
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noun
  1. a copy exactly like an original.
  2. anything corresponding in all respects to something else.
  3. Cards. a duplicate game.
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verb (used with object), du·pli·cat·ed, du·pli·cat·ing.
  1. to make an exact copy of.
  2. to do or perform again; repeat: He duplicated his father's way of standing with his hands in his pockets.
  3. to double; make twofold.
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verb (used without object), du·pli·cat·ed, du·pli·cat·ing.
  1. to become duplicate.
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adjective
  1. exactly like or corresponding to something else: duplicate copies of a letter.
  2. consisting of or existing in two identical or corresponding parts; double.
  3. Cards. noting a game in which each team plays a series of identical hands, the winner being the team making the best total score.
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Idioms
  1. in duplicate, in two copies, especially two identical copies: Please type the letter in duplicate.
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Origin of duplicate

1400–50; late Middle English < Latin duplicātus (past participle of duplicāre to make double), equivalent to duplic- (stem of duplex) duplex + -ātus -ate1
Related formsdu·pli·ca·tive, adjectivenon·du·pli·cat·ing, adjectivenon·du·pli·ca·tive, adjectivepre·du·pli·cate, verb (used with object), pre·du·pli·cat·ed, pre·du·pli·cat·ing.qua·si-du·pli·cate, adjectiveself-du·pli·cat·ing, adjectiveun·du·pli·cat·ed, adjectiveun·du·pli·ca·tive, adjective

Synonyms

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1. facsimile, replica, reproduction. 4. See imitate. 9. twofold.

Antonyms

1. original.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

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British Dictionary definitions for duplicative

duplicate

adjective (ˈdjuːplɪkɪt)
  1. copied exactly from an original
  2. identical
  3. existing as a pair or in pairs; twofold
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noun (ˈdjuːplɪkɪt)
  1. an exact copy; double
  2. something additional or supplementary of the same kind
  3. two exact copies (esp in the phrase in duplicate)
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verb (ˈdjuːplɪˌkeɪt)
  1. (tr) to make a replica of
  2. (tr) to do or make again
  3. (tr) to make in a pair; make double
  4. (intr) biology to reproduce by dividing into two identical partsthe chromosomes duplicated in mitosis
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Derived Formsduplicable (ˈdjuːplɪkəbəl), adjectiveduplicability, nounduplicately, adverbduplicative, adjective

Word Origin

C15: from Latin duplicāre to double, from duo two + plicāre to fold
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

Word Origin and History for duplicative

adj.

1870; see duplicate (v.) + -ive.

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duplicate

adj.

mid-15c., "having two parts, double," from Latin duplicatus, past participle of duplicare "to double," from duo "two" (see two) + plicare "to fold" see ply (v.1)). Meaning "exactly corresponding, that is an exact copy of" is from 1812.

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duplicate

v.

1620s, "to double," from Latin duplicatus, past participle of duplicare (see duplicate (adj.)). Meaning "make an exact copy" is from 1640s (implied in duplicated). Related: Duplicating. The noun is first recorded 1530s.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper