An obscure question about letter writing

[Hyacinth]

A friend has telephoned &  asked  (cos I'm the sort of person who's supposed to know these things :o) what the letters 'c' or 'cc' mean when one puts them at the bottom of letters to indicate that a copy 'c' or copies 'cc' have been sent....

I replied that I thought that they indicated 'c' for 'copy' and 'cc' for plural copies, and that I didn't think that they were abbreviations for any french or latin terms.

As I was talking to him, I was looking through my Chambers dictionary and there's nothing there to indicate that they're foreign contractions - there again, there's nothing to indicate that the letter's used as the english contraction either.

So, anyone here know the truth of it - and importantly, for my Pedant friend, guide me to a terms of reference, please?

Cheers! Lishka

[Hyacinth]

[Ceratonia]

Always thought it was 'carbon copy', from the days when Carbon paper was used to save typing stuff twice?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_copy

[Curryandchips]

and hence 'bcc' indicates 'blind carbon copy' used for sending messages without indicating the sender's address ...

[tim]

Ceratonia - you knocked off my reply!!

Which was - 'not too obscure - cc = carbon copy & now used for e-mails - c? more nomally for ordinary mail??'-

[supersprout]

This reminds me of 'glove compartment' and 'dual carriageway' - phrases that relate to words in current use which have stayed in the language long after the original descriptive function of the word has moved on. Some visuals do this too, like the puffer train sign at level crossings.

cc = carbon copy, which harks back to the days of carbon paper (and Tippex!). Nowadays just means 'copy'. Used for letters, not for emails because it's automatically logged in the header.
bcc = 'blind' carbon copy - 'blind' carbon copy. Nowadays mainly used to send a copy of an email to a recipient, hidden from other recipients.

It'a quite OK in emails to use the abbreviation as a noun and say 'I sent you a cc/bcc'. More recently the abbreviation has been used as a verb as in 'I cc'd you in' or 'I bcc'd you in on this message'.

It's up to the sender whether they capitalise the first C or B; companies have their own style guide as a rule.

I have never seen 'c' or 'bc' used on their own.

Sprouty Pedants' R Us 8)

[tim]

Oh! Nicely put. I accede. Seemed to recall - in the olden days - the c for any copy.

Age tells. Times change!

[supersprout]

Well I am but a green sprout tim ;) ;D

[Curryandchips]

And all the time I was in a profession, I used to think 'cc' stood for 'copy for circulation!

Talking of word usage, have you noticed whenever you encounter the tarmac rollers at road works, they are still called 'steam' rollers ?  :)

[tim]

Green, Sprout, means still living. Keep it that way.

This is later - maybe Lishka has a point? Searhing the 'brain' a little further - & we're talking of 35-40 years ago - I doubt my words about 'c'. It would have been 'copy to', in full, & bcc would have been 'hidden copy to'.

[Hyacinth]

WOW! Thank you all......how could I have forgotten!! and  carbon paper and Tippex? Quick check in my desk and I've still got both......sell them on e-Bay, perhaps? ;D

Especial thanks to Ceratonia for providing that excellent wiki link - I've printed this off and will recite it to my friend tomorrow 8)

I continue to be amazed by the always excellent and prompt response to questions posted here....gold stars all round, I think ******

[tim]

At least I know what E&OE means - should have added it to my first post!!

[janebb]

Just to confuse the issue,  I thought that CC meant "courtesy copy" ie the item in question was not intended for the person CCed  to but you are letting them know of its existence out of politeness.

[Curryandchips]

How wonderful, this also appears to be the case, at least according to Google, if that can be any indication of usage.

Like the old proverb, a man with a good watch always knows the right time, a man with two good watches, is never sure ...

[MonsterMum]

CC definitely means Carbon Copy.  As in an exact copy has been sent to someone else, who should be named