whats wrong with calling it a 'xerox' the other person obviously understands what i am saying.. why do i have to keep getting corected.. and it's not that i don't try.. it's just that sometimes i forget.. but doesn't xerox also mean photocopy?
2006-08-17 06:38:23 · 23 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Etiquette
Yes, it is the same thing. Sort of like "Kleenex" is actually facial tissue and "Scotch" tape is just tape. Some brands so completely dominate a field that they become synonymous with their product. Those who correct you are being overly anal as xerox is now a part of our language as a synonym for photocopy.
2006-08-17 06:50:16 · answer #1 · answered by Goose&Tonic 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Exactly what Joshua said: Some people who get a little tiny bit of knowledge, like to show it off, by correcting people.
If they insist on being jerks, then make sure you bring it to their attention every time they use slang or other colloquialisms.
Ask, "Why does it bother you when I say xerox...yet you think it's ok to say_____"
Unless...they are just young and were still in diapers, when you were busy working in the office, and really don't know that "xerox" is way of saying photocopy.
2006-08-17 07:09:11 · answer #2 · answered by limendoz 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Xerox is not a process, it is the trademarked name of Xerox, Corp, the inventor of the photocopying process.
Do people understand what you mean? Yes, they do, but the truth is that it is an incorrect usage. It'd be equivalent to selling you Pepsi Cola but calling it "coke."
Because trademarks must be vigorously defended or lost (c.f. brassiere, nylon, etc.) Xerox goes to a lot of time and expense to make sure everyone is aware that they are a company, not a process.
2006-08-17 07:45:41 · answer #3 · answered by jbtascam 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Xerox is a brand name. Just like Kleenex is the brand name for tissue. People know what you mean but it's not the proper name for a photocopy.
Xerox is a name of a company and is an abbreviation for the word xerographic which means 1 : to copy on a xerographic copier 2 : to make (a copy) on a xerographic copier (http://www.webster.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?sourceid=Mozilla-search&va=xerox)
2006-08-17 07:38:41 · answer #4 · answered by ~*~*~*Jenny Anne~*~*~* 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Xerox is actually the first company to have a computer mouse. However Apple stole all they're ideas. But anyways if you called it a "Xerox machine" it's alright. But it be better idea to photocopying so other companies don't sue you or something =)
2006-08-17 07:06:29 · answer #5 · answered by Sarah T 2 · 0⤊ 2⤋
It is because this person obviously likes you but is too stupid to ask you out. Or they are just stupid. Xerox was coined as anything photocopied, since they invented the photocopy. It is like buying a polo shirt that isn't Polo. They either like you or they are just stupid.
2006-08-17 06:53:29 · answer #6 · answered by Richard B 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Xerox is a name brand. You are correct the right terminology is photocopy. It has taken over like "Band-aid" that too is a name brand but no matter what kind of adhesive bandage you have, you always say Band-aid.
2006-08-17 06:46:06 · answer #7 · answered by girl 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think Xerox is a term that well-understood in US. I am not sure about other places. But photocopy should be understood world wide.
2006-08-17 06:45:06 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Xerox is a brand name, so you technically can't xerox something on a hp copier. That everyone uses it in the way you mention is the brilliance of marketing.
2006-08-17 06:44:55 · answer #9 · answered by JB 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
only didactic ones who want to show they are correct and superior will want to correct you, xerox is synonymous with photocopying, and even the tribes in the amazon will understand xerox and not photocopy
2006-08-17 06:56:23 · answer #10 · answered by Joshua K 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋