fax
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fax¹
- /fæks/
Sounds like facts (informal US and Canada pronunciation) · Rhymes with -æks
Where it comes from
From Middle English fax, from Old English feax (“hair, head of hair”), from Proto-West Germanic *fahs, from Proto-Germanic *fahsą (“hair, mane”), from Proto-Indo-European *poḱsom (“hair”, literally “that which is combed, shorn, or plucked”), from Proto-Indo-European *peḱ- (“to comb, shear, pluck”). Cognate with Dutch vas (“headhair”), German Fachs (“head-hair”), Norwegian faks (“mane”), Icelandic fax (“mane”), Sanskrit पक्ष्मन् (pákṣman, “eyelash, hair, filament”).
noun faxes
- The hair of the head.
- The face. The fillok hyr deformyt fax wald haue a fair face.
fax²
- /fæks/
Sounds like facts (informal US and Canada pronunciation) · Rhymes with -æks
Where it comes from
Clipping of facsimile. The use of the noun first appears c. 1946. The verb first appears c. 1979.
noun faxes · faxxes
- Ellipsis of fax machine (a device which scans, transmits, receives and prints documents (faxes) transmitted by telephone) OK, now take it down the hall to the fax.
- The medium of communication that a fax machine provides. You can send it via email or fax. You can use an online fax service where you upload a PDF and then send it to a fax number.
- A document sent, or received and printed, by a fax machine. I've just received the fax you sent me.
verb faxes · faxxes · faxing · faxxing · faxed
- To send a document by means of a fax machine. Hands trembling with excitement and impatience, I faxxed my credit history to Jerry Raskin, the real estate agent listed, and received an appointment to view the place.
fax³
- /fæks/
Sounds like facts (informal US and Canada pronunciation) · Rhymes with -æks
Where it comes from
Formed with -x from facts; the pronunciation of facts and fax is identical in certain varieties of English.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: facsimile, telefax, facsimile machine, mailed, machine, photocopier, photocopy, copier, telecopier, telecopy, telefacsimile, copycat, telex, communicate, telephone, tel
Translations
Every language
noun a document sent, or received and printed, by a fax machine
| Español | fax, telefax, telefacsímil |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 팩스 paekseu, 팩시밀리 paeksimilli |
| 日本語 | ファックス fakkusu, ファクシミリ fakushimiri |
| 中文 | 傳真 /传真 chuánzhēn |
| हिन्दी | फ़ैक्स faiks, फैक्स phaiks |
| Kiswahili | faksi |
| Português | fax |
| Français | fax, télécopie |
| Deutsch | Fax |
| Italiano | fax, telefax, telecopia, telecopiatura |
| Ελληνικά | φαξ fax |
| Română | fax |
| Русский | факс faks, факси́миле faksímile, телефа́кс telefáks |
| Tiếng Việt | fax, điện thư |
| العربية | فَاكْس fāks |
| עברית | פַקְס faks |
verb send document
| Español | faxear |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | ファクスを送る fakkusu-o okuru |
| 中文 | 發傳真 /发传真 fā chuánzhēn |
| Português | mandar/enviar por fax |
| Français | faxer, oïn |
| Deutsch | faxen, fernkopieren |
| Italiano | faxare, telecopiare |
| Ελληνικά | τηλεομοιοτυπώ tileomoiotypó, στέλνω φαξ stélno fax |
| Русский | посыла́ть факс posylátʹ faks, передава́ть факс peredavátʹ faks |
| العربية | أَرْسَلَ فَاكْس ʔarsala faks |
Talk about this word "fax." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/fax. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. fax. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/fax "fax." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/fax.Cite this
@misc{fax_2026,
title = {fax},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/fax},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
