Loanwords 3: copy, xerox, pump

An intriguing discovery inspired me to write another installment of Loanwords. Up today we have three words related to copying in one form or another:

ก๊อปปี้ [kɔ́ppîi] = v. to copy, duplicate; n. copy; clf. copies (of a document); adj. duplicate. Also spelled ก๊อปปี, among other variants. Note the short vowel on the first syllable. This gave rise to the clipped form ก๊อป [kɔ́p]. Both forms are used in a variety of senses. ซีดีก๊อป refers to bootleg CDs, like copies made in a CD burner; ก๊อปปี้เซ็นเตอร์ is a copy center, and ถ่ายก๊อปปี้ means to make a photocopy; in the classroom, ก๊อป means to to copy someone else's work, as in in ก๊อปเพื่อน 'to copy off a friend'.

The unexpected discovery that I made is about this word. I was reading in A Siamese-Dictionary, 1892, by E. B. Michell and found this:

กอปี้ (kawpee) [Engl.] copy; สมุด--- copy-book

[Michell 1892, p. 21 (requires DjVu plug-in)]

I had no idea this word has been around in Thai for so long. This shows that its original borrowed sense was to make a handwritten copy. The native word for this is ลอก or คัดลอก. ก๊อปปี้ retains this sense today, along with newer more technologically advanced meanings.

ซี [sii] = to photocopy. Clipped from 'Xerox'. The full name, ซีรอกซ์ [ซีหฺร็อก], is also used. Note that like many English loans, the Thai pronunciation doesn't follow regular tone rules. Usage follows the pattern of English, which also uses Xerox as a generic verb meaning to photocopy (regardless of the brand of machine). This is the word I hear used by students and photocopy staff at the two libraries I frequent most, Chula Library and the National Library.

Another interesting thing is that you can use either ก๊อปปี้ or ซีรอกซ์ with the verb ถ่าย: ถ่ายซีรอกซ์ or ถ่ายก๊อปปี้ (the formal Thai is ถ่ายสำเนา), but the clipped forms are usually used as verbs by themselves. ซี is equivalent to ถ่ายซีรอกซ์, and ก๊อป is equivalent to ถ่ายก๊อปปี้.

ปั๊ม [pám] = to pump; to stamp; to make a copy. From English 'pump', typical uses include: ปั๊มน้ำมัน 'gas pump' (referring to the entire filling station), เครื่องปั๊มน้ำ 'water pump', ปั๊มหัวใจ 'to perform CPR' (i.e. pump the heart). But there are other meanings that stray a bit further from the English source. ปั๊มเอกสาร means 'to stamp a document', as with a rubber stamp or an embossing seal, and ปั๊มตรา 'affix a seal' means the same thing. Presumably this comes from the motion of 'pumping' the lever of a old school desk embosser. Finally, ปั๊ม also means to copy or press a professional-style compact disc, complete with data and artwork; a disc press is เครื่องปั๊มแผ่น.