English
copy
Copy comes from Old French copie, from Medieval Latin copia ‘transcript’, from Latin cōpia ‘plenty’, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₃ep- ‘to work’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₃ep-1‘to work, toil, make’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*opis1reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEops1‘strength, power; wealth’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcōps1‘abounding in, rich’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcōpia2‘abundance, plenty’
- Medieval Latinc. 600–1500copia2‘reproduction, transcript’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400copie2‘abundance; transcript, copy’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500copy2
- Englishearliest quotation 1599copy2
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Latin copia
- 2 Wiktionary, English copy
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1599, B. I. [i.e.: “[S]he was bleſt with no more Copie of wit,…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₃ep-Wiktionary, Latin copia‘to work, toil, make’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*opisWiktionary, Latin copiareconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEopsWiktionary, Latin copia‘strength, power; wealth’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcōpsWiktionary, Latin copia‘abounding in, rich’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcōpiaWiktionary, English copy‘abundance, plenty’
- Medieval Latinc. 600–1500copiaWiktionary, English copy‘reproduction, transcript’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400copieWiktionary, English copy‘abundance; transcript, copy’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500copyWiktionary, English copy
- Englishearliest quotation 1599copyWiktionary, English copy. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1599, B. I. [i.e.: “[S]he was bleſt with no more Copie of wit,…”
Word family
English words that share an ancestor with copy, grouped by the ancestor they share, most familiar first.
through Proto-Indo-European *h₃ep- ‘to work, toil, make’
- bus ← omnibus ← omnibus ← omnibus ← omnis
- operation ← operacioun ← operacion ← operātiō ← operor
- operate ← operātus ← opera ← opus ← *opos
- operator ← operor ← operātus ← opera ← opus
- opera
- omnibus ← (voiture) omnibus ← omnis ← *opnis
- oeuvre ← œuvre ← uevre ← opera
- opus ← *opos ← *h₃épos
- omnivore ← omnivorus ← omnis ← *opnis
through Proto-Italic *opis
- officer ← officium ← ops
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Another origin of copy
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₃ep-‘to work, toil, make’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*opisreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEops
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcōps‘abounding in, rich, copious’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcōpia‘supply, abundance, copiousness, wealth, riches’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcōpiō‘to copy’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400copier
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500copien‘to copy’
- Englishtodaycopy
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Today it means
noun The result of copying; an identical or nearly identical duplicate of an original.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “copy”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin copia. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *h₃ep- / copy