Faxing

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. The act of sending written or graphic documents via a machine that converts them into electronic data and transmits it over phone lines effectively
2. A process involving the electronic transmission of information from one location to another by scanning documents and using telephone or internet connections
3. The method of electronically delivering documents by capturing them with a scanner and transmitting the resulting data through telecommunication systems

Etymology: "Faxing" is the present participle and gerund of "fax," so it shares the history of that base word. "Fax" is a clipping of "facsimile," from Latin "fac simile," meaning "make similar" or "make alike," with "fac" the imperative of "facere" ("to make") and "simile" the neuter of "similis" ("like"). The term "facsimile" was used in English from the 1640s for an exact copy, especially of a book or manuscript. The shortened "fax" came into use in the 1960s, when telegraph-based image transmission became practical and the copy was sent across a distance. The verb "to fax" followed from the noun, and "faxing" is simply the verb's -ing form, describing the act of sending a scanned copy by telephone line or, later, over the internet.

Synonyms: sending, transmitting