Xeroxes

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A brand-specific method of creating copies of documents and images using copying technology
2. The process of duplicating text or images onto paper via a specialized device
3. Produces duplicates of documents or images by feeding them through a xerographic copier

Etymology: "Xeroxes" is the third-person singular present form of "xerox," used as a verb. The verb comes from a trademark that became generic: Xerox was the name of a photocopier, and the machine's name came from xerography, a copying process whose Greek roots mean "dry writing." The first element, from "xērós," meant "dry," and the second, from "graphē," meant "writing," so the name literally described copying by dry means rather than by the wet chemical methods used earlier. Over time the brand name lost its capital letter and its link to one company's machines. People began to say they would "xerox" a document whether or not a Xerox machine made the copy, and "xeroxes" follows that pattern when one person or device does the copying, as in "she xeroxes the handout every morning."

Synonyms: copies, photocopies