photostat
A photocopy made using a Photostat machineA (non-xerographic) photocopy made using a Photostat machine; (loosely) any photocopy, even a xerographic one.
Meaning
2 senses(dated)A (non-xerographic) photocopy made using a Photostat machine; (loosely) any photocopy, even a xerographic one.
Near-synonyms: photocopy, xerox, xerograph, copy (all broadly synonymous)
a photocopy made on a Photostat machine
(historical)The machine (essentially, a special camera) on which such a copy is made.
Near-synonyms: photocopier, copier (both contextually synonymous); xerographer, xerox (broadly synonymous)
Origin
A genericization from the trade name of one of the earliest commercially successful typesA genericization from the trade name of one of the earliest commercially successful types of photocopier, a pre-xerography type. Xerography displaced it in the 1960s and 1970s; since then the relics of it are historical curiosities. More in Wikipedia at Photostat machine.
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Forms
plural: photostats| Singular | photostat |
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| Plural | photostats |
regular
Synonyms
8 synonyms- a duplicating machine that makes quick positive or negative copies directly on the surface of prepared paper:Photostat machine