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xerox

One of the strangest ways that words creep into our language is through product names and company names. A product can be so successful that its name becomes a synonym for the object itself, like Kleenex (tissue).

The word "xerox" is a fascinating case. In 1937, an electrostatic printing method was invented by American law student Chester Carlson, who called it xerography (Greek: "dry printing") and the company Xerox brought it to market in the 1950s, replacing the clunky old mimeograph process. The word "Xerox" was trademarked in 1948. By the mid-1980s, people were using "xerox" as both a noun and a verb, to describe what are now known as "photocopies." It seems to me that this usage has peaked, and has been falling off. I hear "make copies" much more than "xerox it" these days, but this may be a regional distinction.

In any case, this is an example of a monumental success for a product, and how language shifts to accomodate it. A certain degree of success makes a brand a household word, the same way that fame makes people a household name. But even then, very few of these things become nouns or verbs.

Naturally, the exact company history is a little more complex, with a few earlier companies (Haloid Co, Rectigraph, Batelle) working together to form the company we know today.
See Xerox Company history
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