copybook
copybook Lexical Profile
copybook Game Scores & Validity
• noun
A book containing models of handwriting, proverbs, or arithmetic exercises with blank spaces below for learners to imitate.
"The museum displayed a nineteenth-century schoolroom complete with slates, inkwells, and neatly scripted copybooks."
Irish A ruled notebook used by schoolchildren for classwork and homework.
"The teacher asked the pupils to take out their maths copybooks and turn to a fresh page."
• adjective
Strictly adhering to established rules, standards, or conventional methods; textbook or exemplary, sometimes to the point of being unoriginal.
"The pilot executed a copybook landing despite the severe crosswinds."
Word Nuance & Usage
In British English, the noun is most commonly encountered in the idiom 'to blot one's copybook,' meaning to tarnish one's good reputation through a mistake or indiscretion.
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Formed in the late 16th century as a compound of 'copy' and 'book', originally referring to a schoolbook containing printed moral maxims in ornamental penmanship for students to imitate.