Definition of

Facsimile

In order to know the meaning of the term facsimile we must first discover its etymological origin. In this case, we can state that it is a word that derives from Latin, specifically from the expression: "fac simile", which can be translated as "do it the same." An expression in which there is both the verb "facere", which is synonymous with "do", and the adjective "similis", which is equivalent to "equal".

A facsimile is the almost exact reproduction of a drawing , a signature , etc.

FacsimileFor example: "Tomorrow a facsimile of William Shakespeare's classic will be auctioned," "The museum exhibits a facsimile of the letter that the writer sent to his wife when he arrived in Europe," "The lawyer has already received a facsimile of the contract." and will study the clauses .

It can be said that a facsimile is a high-quality copy that is achieved through screen printing and photography techniques . The goal is to imitate all the details of the document in question, including its defects.

The size and colors of the facsimile, therefore, are identical to those presented in the original work. Due to their characteristics, it is common for facsimiles to be used in museums to display old and very valuable documentation without exhibiting the original papers, which are kept safe.

Libraries are other institutions that use facsimiles. Users, in this way, can access these reproductions and know the content of important documents.

In the online publication Museo del Cid, for example, there is a large collection of facsimiles. That is, works that have been republished, such as the “Collection of General Views of Burgos”, the document of donation of houses in Fresno de Caracena, the “Historical Monograph of El Castillo de Burgos”…

In the same way, we cannot ignore the existence of a collection of comics released by the Panini brand that responds to the title "Marvel Facsimil." Stories of Marvel superheroes are those that are collected in those, which also include everything from stickers to posters to reading guides.

Spiderman, The Avengers, Daredevil, Captain America, The New Mutants, Silver Trail and X-Men are some of the characters that appear in those aforementioned comics.

On the other hand, the Royal Spanish Academy ( RAE ), in its dictionary, indicates that facsimile can also be used as a synonym for fax . This is the name given to the system that, through the telephone line, enables the transmission of graphics and texts.

A fax or facsimile, in this sense, is also the document that is received through this system . The content is scanned into a fax machine which creates a bitmap and transmits it as an electrical signal over the telephone line; Then, another fax machine receives that signal, converts the encoded image and prints it on a sheet of paper.

Furthermore, we cannot forget that "Facsimile" is the title of a book written by the Chilean Alejandro Zambra. It was published in 2015 and addresses such important issues as social inequality, education, family and love.