A carbon copy (CC) is a duplicate copy of a document or email message. The term originated from the practice of using carbon paper to create duplicate copies of a typewritten document. Carbon paper contained a layer of carbon pigment that transferred the impression of the typed text onto a sheet of paper placed beneath it. This method allowed for the simultaneous creation of multiple copies of a document, which was particularly useful in office settings before the advent of photocopiers and digital document processing.
History of the Carbon Copy
The use of carbon paper dates back to the mid-19th century, with patents for the technology being issued in the 1800s. The practice of using carbon paper to create duplicate copies of documents became widespread in the early 20th century, as typewriters became more common in offices and businesses. The term carbon copy was used to describe the duplicate copies created using this method.
Carbon Copy in Email
In the context of email, the abbreviation cc stands for carbon copy and is used to indicate that additional recipients are receiving a copy of the email. The use of cc in email is an analogy to the use of carbon paper, as it allows for the distribution of the same message to multiple recipients. The concept of including additional recipients in email messages predates the use of cc and can be traced back to the early days of email communication in the 1970s. However, the use of cc specifically to indicate a carbon copy can be traced back to the days of typewriters and paper memos.
Blind Carbon Copy
Additionally, the concept of a bcc or blind carbon copy was introduced to allow for the discreet distribution of an email message to additional recipients without revealing their identities to the primary recipient or other recipients on the email thread. This feature is particularly useful in situations where the identities of the additional recipients need to be kept confidential.
Other Uses of CC
While the term cc most often refers to carbon copy or cubic centimetre, it can also have other meanings depending on the context. For example, in the Roman numeral system, cc represents the number 200. Additionally, cc can be used as an abbreviation for various other terms and phrases, depending on the specific context in which it is used.
