Etymology

photocopy

P3H4O1T1O1C3O1P3Y4

Today it means: A copy made using a photocopier. Full definition →

English copy ← Middle English copy ← Ancient Greek φωτο- (phōto-)
Ask AI about its historyChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*bʰeh₂-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*bʰéh₂os
  3. Proto-Hellenic*pʰáwos
  4. Ancient Greekφᾰ́ος (phắos)
  5. Ancient Greekφῶς (phôs)
  6. Ancient Greekφωτο- (phōto-)
  7. Englishphoto-
  8. Middle Englishcopy
  9. Englishcopy
  10. English todayphotocopy

From photo- + copy.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.