foolscap

American  

[foolz-kap] / ˈfulzˌkæp /

noun

1. a type of inexpensive writing paper, especially legal-size, lined, yellow sheets, bound in tablet form.

2. Chiefly British. a size of drawing or printing paper, 13.5 × 17 inches (34 × 43 centimeters). cap., fcp.

3. Also called foolscap octavo.  a size of book, about 4.25 × 6.75 inches (11 × 17 centimeters), untrimmed.

4. Also called foolscap quarto.  Chiefly British. a size of book, about 6.75 × 8.5 inches (17 × 22 centimeters) untrimmed.

5. fool's cap.

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foolscap British  

/ ˈfuːlzˌkæp /

noun

1. a size of writing or printing paper, 13 1/ 2 by 17 inches or 13 1/ 4 by 16 1/ 2 inches

2. a book size, 4 1/ 4 by 6 3/ 4 inches ( foolscap octavo ) or (chiefly Brit) 6 3/ 4 by 8 1/ 2 inches ( foolscap quarto )

3. a variant spelling of fool's cap

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Etymology

Origin of foolscap

First recorded in 1690–1700; so called from the watermark of a fool's cap formerly used on such paper

Example Sentences

Against this tech-inflected landscape, Thomas Harding’s more than serviceable new biography of George Weidenfeld, long a force of letters in England and briefly in the United States, floats as if on stained foolscap.

From New York Times • Aug. 27, 2023

It consists of calculations etched largely in ink on yellowed leaves of foolscap and squared paper, with 26 pages in Einstein’s handwriting, 25 pages in Besso’s and three containing entries from both scientists.

From Washington Post • Nov. 22, 2021

The map runs to sixteen laminated foolscap pages, or about ten square feet, when I tile the pages together.

From The New Yorker • May 23, 2019

Denis MacShane, a Labour former Europe minister, saw some of the letters - written on large foolscap paper with heavy black ink - during his time at the Foreign Office.

From BBC • May 12, 2015

They came on serviettes, on paper tom from exercise books, on scraps of foolscap, on the backs of our own leaflets.

From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela