Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun Chiefly British A sheet of writing or printing paper measuring about 13 by 16 inches.
- noun A fool's cap.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun See
fool's cap , under fool. - noun A writing-paper, usually folded, varying in size from 12 × 15 to 12½ × 16 inches: so called from its former watermark, the outline of a fool's head and cap, for which other devices are now substituted.
- noun A bivalve mollusk, Isocardia cor, better known as heart-shell.
- Of the size known as foolscap.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun A writing paper made in sheets, ordinarily 16 x 13 inches, and folded so as to make a page 13 x 8 inches. See
paper .
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun Alternative form of
fool's cap . - noun
Writing paper sheets measuring 13.25 x 16.5inches - noun Such a sheet
folded orcut inhalf , thus approximately 8 x 13.25 inches. - noun Printing paper measuring 13.5 inches x 17 inches.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a size of paper used especially in Britain
- noun a cone-shaped paper hat formerly placed on the head of slow or lazy pupils
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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The next day I bought two sheets of foolscap from the schoolmaster, and after tea I betook myself to the granary, barred the door, and fell to writing my sermon.
The Story Girl Lucy Maud 1911
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Just stumbled over the 'foolscap' comment, some months after you wrote it.
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I had a notion that "foolscap" was paper that was of poor quality, normally not used for writing, but fibrous enough to be used for printing.
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Mr Counsellor Fielding follows his retrospect of this strenuous attack on the law with a declaration that, henceforth, he intends to forsake the pursuit of that 'foolscap' literary fame, and the company of the
Henry Fielding: a Memoir G. M. Godden
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In Germany (and some other continental countries) there is a yellow plaque - not larger than a 'foolscap' (A 4 size) sheet of paper - displayed at the entrance to every building site.
Irish Blogs 2008
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Mr Counsellor Fielding follows his retrospect of this strenuous attack on the law with a declaration that, henceforth, he intends to forsake the pursuit of that 'foolscap' literary fame, and the company of the 'infamous' nine Muses; a decision based partly on the insubstantial nature of the rewards achieved, and partly it would seem due to the fact that at Fielding's innocent door had been laid, he declares, half the anonymous scurrility, indecency, treason, and blasphemy that the few last years had produced.
Henry Fielding A Memoir Godden, G M 1909
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a lengthy dispatch covering, at least, two columns of "foolscap," and sent to the Brigade.
Three years in France with the Guns: Being Episodes in the life of a Field Battery C. A. Rose
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I immediately took out some foolscap and a quill and began this account of all that had transpired.
Laurence Hughes: Ahab at Starbucks Laurence Hughes 2011
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I immediately took out some foolscap and a quill and began this account of all that had transpired.
Laurence Hughes: Ahab at Starbucks Laurence Hughes 2011
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I immediately took out some foolscap and a quill and began this account of all that had transpired.
Laurence Hughes: Ahab at Starbucks Laurence Hughes 2011
oroboros commented on the word foolscap
Wow. I hadn't a clue there's a goodly size (13"x16") associated with this paper.
September 15, 2007
reesetee commented on the word foolscap
And based on that paper size, there's also a couple of book sizes known by the same word: foolscap octavo and foolscap quarto.
September 15, 2007
sionnach commented on the word foolscap
Everybody knows what “foolscap�? paper is, but everybody does not know how it came to bear that name. In order to increase his revenues, Charles I. granted certain privileges, amounting to monopolies, and among these was the manufacture of paper the exclusive right of which was sold to certain parties, who grew rich, and enriched the government at the expense of those who were obliged to use paper. At that time all English paper bore the royal arms in water-marks. The Parliament under Cromwell made sport of this law in every possible manner, and, among other indignities to the memory of Charles, it was ordered that the royal arms be removed from the paper, and that the fool’s cap and bells should be used as a substitute. When the Rump Parliament was prorogued, these were also removed; but paper of the size of the parliamentary journals, which are usually about seventeen by fourteen inches, still bears the name of “foolscap.�?
From Gesta Typographica by Chas. Jacobi, 1897, page 27.
May 27, 2009
chained_bear commented on the word foolscap
Damned Roundheads.
May 27, 2009
middlesmith commented on the word foolscap
Fascinating. I seem to remember examining an eighteenth-century book with a foolscap watermark. If the Rump Parliament ended (I reckon) around 1660 and took the foolscap mark with it, I guess I'm misremembering. Does anyone know whether paper makers kept using the watermark unofficially into the 1700's?
May 28, 2009
reesetee commented on the word foolscap
Here's a nice writeup about the foolscap watermark, middlesmith.
Sionnach, my understanding is that the story you tell is apocryphal. The foolscap watermark had actually been in use since the mid-15th century.
May 28, 2009
chained_bear commented on the word foolscap
Damned Roundheads.
May 28, 2009
dailyword commented on the word foolscap
I read a Sherlock Holmes story once where Watson used this word and he expended quite a lot of it in writing up the case.
February 5, 2012
RevBrently commented on the word foolscap
From p. 12 of Patrick Leigh Fermor's "A Time to Keep Silence":
Back in my cell, I sat down before the new blotter and pens and sheets of clean foolscap.
January 21, 2014
tumbel commented on the word foolscap
The Tatler was originally printed on a very brown paper called “tobacco paper.” The Spectator was a whiter, half folio sheet (or foolscap) printed on both sides, the quality of which, however superior to the Tatler’s paper, must have left much to be desired.
June 28, 2014