facsimile
Americannoun
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an exact copy, as of a book, painting, or manuscript.
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Also called fax. Telecommunications.
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a method or device for transmitting documents, drawings, photographs, or the like, by means of radio or telephone for exact reproduction elsewhere.
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an image transmitted by such a method.
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verb (used with object)
adjective
noun
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an exact copy or reproduction
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( as modifier )
a facsimile publication
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an image produced by facsimile transmission
verb
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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facsimilesimple
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facsimilessimple
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have facsimiledperfect
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has facsimiledperfect
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am facsimileingprogressive
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are facsimileingprogressive
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is facsimileingprogressive
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have been facsimileingperfect progressive
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has been facsimileingperfect progressive
Past
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facsimiledsimple
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had facsimiledperfect
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was facsimileingprogressive
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were facsimileingprogressive
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had been facsimileingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of facsimile
1655–65; earlier fac simile make the like, equivalent to Latin fac (imperative of facere ) + simile, noun use of neuter of similis like; see simile
Explanation
A facsimile is a copy or reproduction of something. Many parents hope their children will be facsimiles of themselves; many children have other plans in mind. Facsimile comes from two Latin roots: facere, meaning "to make," and simile, meaning "like." Fax machines are so called because they copy and transmit facsimiles of documents, or faxes for short, over phone lines. Grammatically speaking, photocopiers also make facsimiles, but oddly enough those are referred to as copies — not faxes.
Vocabulary lists containing facsimile
Make Do: Fac
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100 SAT Words Beginning with "F"
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This Week in Words: February 19 - 23, 2018
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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.
The British Museum is collaborating with Rizzoli Books in New York on “Shakespeare’s First Folio: 400th Anniversary Facsimile Edition,” contained within a slipcase cover.
From Seattle Times • Oct. 23, 2023
A current exhibition, “Theaster Gates: Facsimile Cabinet of Women Origin Stories,” includes nearly 3,000 images from the Johnson Publishing Company archive.
From New York Times • Mar. 12, 2019
Facsimile of an Engraving on Wood, from the Cosmographie Universelle of Munster, folio, Basle, 1552.
From Scientific American • Sep. 7, 2013
Facsimile of part of Judith Weir's composition for Judith Serota's book.
From The Guardian • Jun. 8, 2012
An exact Facsimile of the Original Document in the British Museum, printed on fine plate paper, nearly 3 feet long by 2 feet wide, with the Arms and Seals emblazoned in Gold and Colours.
From The Beckoning Hand and Other Stories by Allen, Grant
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
