X is for X Ray isn’t that obvious? But since I’m neither a radiologist nor a technician in an X Ray lab, what comes to mind is XEROX and by Xerox I mean photocopy.

Yes, that simple noun XEROX has become a verb like so many others that acquire a different meaning with constant use.

This is a common enough fate of many proper nouns in India. The name CADBURY has come to signify chocolate – the brittle milk chocolate that the company used to make for years and is now used generically. So often as children, a generous aunt or uncle would slip in a rupee note and ask us to go down and buy ourselves a Cadbury.

Similarly, we used to call up the grocer and ask for a COLGATE which meant any brand of toothpaste that was available as Colgate and toothpaste were synonymous.

We had our KODAK moments while growing up, at birthday parties and weddings, memories that were captured forever on film an adjective coined by the advertisers of Kodak film.

So why is it surprising that we send down our office boys to get our documents XEROXED?

Xerox was the company that simplified life so much – Photocopying became the norm rather than the exception and now with sophisticated photocopiers, one often has to specify that it is a photocopy and not the Original.

For almost every task we are asked for self attested or certified true copies of documents like birth certificates, government issued ID, mark sheets etc etc. This means that every now and then something or the other has to be xeroxed. Is it surprising then that Xerox has become a verb?

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