facsimile

Pronunciation key ( fak-sim′ə-lē )

fac•sim•i•le

n.

[L. fac, imperative of facere to make + simile, neut. of similis, like, "to make similar"].

1. Transmission or reproduction or copy.
2. Exact duplicate, perhaps differing in scale but containing identical details as the original.

adj.

1. Exact reproduction. Similar reproduction such as an autograph.
2. Producing facsimiles.
3. System of electronically transmitting a printed document through telephone.
4. In twentieth century technology, Webster's defines the process as:

   "A process involving the use of radio broadcast: the transmitted signals, formed by a photoelectric cell that picks up the differences in light and dark in the subject matter as it is scanned by a beam of light, are converted into a facsimile of the original matter by a mechanism attached to the radio receiver."

v.t.

[FACSIMILED (-lid), FACSIMILEING], to make a facsimile of]

Syn. Copy, Duplicate

References

Webster's New World Dictionary of the American Language (College Edition) ©1955

Funk and Wagnall's Standard Dictionary, Comprehensive International Edition, ©1976

Merriam-Webster Dictionary & Thesaurus, ©2004