Meaning & use
photostat copy
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountableold-fashioned
A copy of a document made with an early machine that photographed and printed it directly.
Grammar: Countable: you can say a photostat copy or photostat copies.
Patterns
- a photostat copy of something
- make a photostat copy
The lawyer kept a photostat copy of the contract in a fireproof safe.
Before scanners existed, offices made a photostat copy of important papers.
She handed me a photostat copy of the old newspaper article.
nouncountable
A photocopy or scanned copy of a document, especially in older or legal writing.
Grammar: Used in legal or historical contexts where the exact copying method is not important.
Patterns
- a photostat copy of something
- submit a photostat copy
Please attach a photostat copy of your passport to the application.
The archive holds photostat copies of letters from the 1920s.
He compared the photostat copy with the original signature.
Word forms
| plural | photostat copies |
|---|
Common combinations
- a photostat copy of a document
- The bank asked for a photostat copy of the document.
- make a photostat copy
- The clerk made a photostat copy for the file.
- certified photostat copy
- They submitted a certified photostat copy to the court.
- photostat copy of a certificate
- Include a photostat copy of your birth certificate.
Synonyms and how they differ
- photocopy
- The modern everyday word for any copy made by a copying machine; photostat copy sounds old-fashioned and is mostly used in legal or historical writing.
- duplicate
- A general word for an exact second copy, often official; it does not suggest any particular copying machine.
- facsimile
- A very exact copy of a document or picture, often used for old manuscripts; more formal than photostat copy.
Word family
Commonly confused: photostat copy or photocopy?
photostat copy vs photocopy
Photocopy is the normal modern word; photostat copy refers to an old photographic copying process and is now rare outside legal or historical texts.
Practice
Which sentence uses "photostat copy" most naturally?
Choose one answer.
Option B fits because photostat copy is a countable noun used in formal or legal contexts. Option A sounds odd because a modern office printer makes a photocopy, not a photostat copy. Options C and D use the phrase as a verb, which is not standard in modern English.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “photostat copy”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.