Etymologically
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copyright

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 16 October 2026 at 10:43. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈkɒpiˌɹaɪt/ (UK); /ˈkɑpiˌɹaɪt/ (US)[1]

Etymology

It is formed from copy and right.[2][3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The exclusive right to make and sell copies of an intellectual work: 1729 in Etymonline,[2] 1735 in the OED and MWU.[5][3]

Semantic evolution

The verb, to secure copyright for, is implied in copyrighted from 1806 and recorded from 1878.[2][5][3] As an adjective, protected by copyright, it is from 1870.[5][3] The copyright library, one entitled to a free copy of every book published, follows.[5]

Timeline

  • 1729 – the right to copy.[2]
  • 1806 – copyrighted.[2][5]
  • 1870 – the adjective.[5][3]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. The exclusive legal right, held for a fixed number of years, to publish, perform, film or record a literary, artistic or musical work.

Verb

  1. To secure copyright for a work.

Adjective

  1. Protected by copyright.

Word family

  • copyrightable
  • copyrighter

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ a b c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press