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Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
carbon copy
noun
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪ He was as near as dammit to being a stylistic carbon copy of Hell.
▪ It was a carbon copy of an attack 18 months ago.
▪ The new Bernard's is not a carbon copy of the original.
▪ To her annoyance Holly pushed the carbon copy on to Rain's desk and went away with the other.
The Collaborative International Dictionary
carbon copy

Carbon \Car"bon\ (k[aum]r"b[o^]n), n. [F. carbone, fr. L. carbo coal; cf. Skr. [,c]r[=a] to cook.] (Chem.)

  1. An elementary substance, not metallic in its nature, which is present in all organic compounds. Atomic weight 11.97. Symbol C. it is combustible, and forms the base of lampblack and charcoal, and enters largely into mineral coals. In its pure crystallized state it constitutes the diamond, the hardest of known substances, occuring in monometric crystals like the octahedron, etc. Another modification is graphite, or blacklead, and in this it is soft, and occurs in hexagonal prisms or tables. When united with oxygen it forms carbon dioxide, commonly called carbonic acid, or carbonic oxide, according to the proportions of the oxygen; when united with hydrogen, it forms various compounds called hydrocarbons. Compare Diamond, and Graphite.

  2. (Elec.) A carbon rod or pencil used in an arc lamp; also, a plate or piece of carbon used as one of the elements of a voltaic battery.

  3. a sheet of carbon paper.

  4. a carbon copy.

    Carbon compounds, Compounds of carbon (Chem.), those compounds consisting largely of carbon, commonly produced by animals and plants, and hence called organic compounds, though their synthesis may be effected in many cases in the laboratory.

    The formation of the compounds of carbon is not dependent upon the life process.
    --I. Remsen

    carbon copy, originally, a copy of a document made by use of a carbon paper, but now used generally to refer to any copy of a document made by a mechanical process, such as xerographic copying.

    Carbon dioxide, Carbon monoxide. (Chem.) See under Carbonic.

    Carbon light (Elec.), an extremely brilliant electric light produced by passing a galvanic current through two carbon points kept constantly with their apexes neary in contact.

    Carbon point (Elec.), a small cylinder or bit of gas carbon moved forward by clockwork so that, as it is burned away by the electric current, it shall constantly maintain its proper relation to the opposing point.

    Carbon paper, a thin type of paper coated with a dark-colored waxy substance which can be transferred to another sheet of paper underneath it by pressing on the carbon paper. It is used by placing a sheet between two sheets of ordinary writing paper, and then writing or typing on the top sheet, by which process a copy of the writing or typing is transferred to the second sheet below, making a copy without the need for writing or typing a second time. Multiple sheets may be used, with a carbon paper placed above each plain paper to which an impression is to be transferred. In 1997 such paper was still used, particularly to make multiple copies of filled-in purchase invoice forms, but in most applications this technique has been superseded by the more faithful xerographic reproduction and computerized printing processes.

    Carbon tissue, paper coated with gelatine and pigment, used in the autotype process of photography.
    --Abney.

    Gas carbon, a compact variety of carbon obtained as an incrustation on the interior of gas retorts, and used for the manufacture of the carbon rods of pencils for the voltaic, arc, and for the plates of voltaic batteries, etc.

Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
carbon copy

1895, from carbon (paper) + copy (n.). A copy on paper made using carbon paper. The figurative sense is from 1944. Also as a verb, "send a carbon copy (of something)," and as such often abbreviated c.c.

Wiktionary
carbon copy

alt. 1 A copy produced in an alternated stack of ordinary sheets of paper and carbon papers. The pression applied on the top sheet (by a pen or typewriter) causes every carbon paper to release its carbon cover, thus reproducing the writing on the subjacent layers of paper. 2 Any duplicate. n. 1 A copy produced in an alternated stack of ordinary sheets of paper and carbon papers. The pression applied on the top sheet (by a pen or typewriter) causes every carbon paper to release its carbon cover, thus reproducing the writing on the subjacent layers of paper. 2 Any duplicate. vb. 1 To create a carbon copy of. 2 (context Internet English) To send a duplicate copy of a email to.

WordNet
carbon copy

n. a copy made with carbon paper [syn: carbon]

Wikipedia
Carbon copy

In the past, a carbon copy was the under-copy of a document created when carbon paper was placed between the original and the under-copy during the production of a document. With the advent of email, the abbreviations cc or bcc (blind carbon copy) have also come to refer to sending copies of an electronic message to recipients other than the addressee.

Nowadays "carbon copy" is often used metaphorically to refer simply to an exact copy.

Carbon copy (disambiguation)

Carbon Copy may refer to:

  • Carbon copy, a simple document copying technique, as well as a header in e-mail
  • Carbon Copy (film), a 1981 movie comedy starring George Segal and Denzel Washington
  • A "full name" for Cc the cat
  • A horse which participated at the Cox Plate
  • Carbon Copy Media, a record label
  • Carbon Copy (software), an early remote control and file transfer software for DOS and Windows published by Microcom
Carbon Copy (film)

Carbon Copy is a 1981 British- American comedy film, directed by Michael Schultz. The film stars George Segal, Susan Saint James, Jack Warden, and features Denzel Washington in his feature-film debut.

This movie is the first feature film produced by RKO Pictures after a break of many years, though they were only co-distributor with Avco/Embassy Pictures and Hemdale Film Corporation.

Carbon Copy (software)

Carbon Copy was an early remote control and file transfer software for DOS and Windows published by Microcom. It allowed remote access to a computer via dial-up modem connection. For additional security, the software could be configured in a call-back mode so that after it received an incoming call, it would hang up and call back a predetermined number and then start the remote control session. The computer to be controlled was called the host, and the controlling computer was called the guest.

The software also had file transfer and chat capabilities.

Usage examples of "carbon copy".

It was like a carbon copy, Homer thought--an economic carbon copy.

The thirteen year-old was a carbon copy of her mother physically, with the true strawberry blonde hair that was but a memory to her mother's head, but she had yet to learn that a volcanic temper is best kept in check.

I think that was the best piece of literary criticism I ever received -- and the truest, as I found when I tried to read my carbon copy later.

Jonnie and Chrissie had a boy born to them, Timmie Brave Tyler, an absolute carbon copy of Jonnie as everybody swore.

At the moment Cramer was seated at the big desk and I was standing behind him, looking over his shoulder at the carbon copy of my reports to Naylor-Kerr, which I had stopped off at Wolfe’.

Personally, I dislike wasting the time it takes to correct typos on a carbon copy.

There are hints all through MOTE that the structure of government is not a mere carbon copy of the British Empire or Rome or England in the time of William III.