Copy

Copy, kop′i, n. an imitation from an original pattern, a transcript: that which is imitated: a specimen of penmanship to be imitated: the original work from which an imitation or reproduction is made: manuscript for printing.—v.t. to write, paint, &c. after an original: to imitate: to transcribe:—pa.p. cop′ied.—ns. Cop′ier, Cop′yer, one who copies: an imitator; Cop′y-book, a book in which copies are written or printed for imitation; Cop′yhold (Eng. law), a species of estate or right of holding land, for which the owner can only show the copy of the rolls originally made by the steward of the lord's court; Cop′yholder, one who has a tenure of land by copyhold; Cop′ying-press, a machine for copying manuscript letters by pressure; Cop′yism, the practice of the copyist; Cop′yist, one whose business is to copy documents; Copy′right, the exclusive right of an author or his heirs to multiply copies of a written or printed composition, or of a work of art (for books in England the term is forty-two years, or the life of the author and seven years, whichever is longer).—adj. protected by copyright.—v.t. to secure the copyright of.—A copy of verses, a set of verses, esp. a college exercise. [Fr. copie, from L. copia, plenty; in Low L. a transcript.]