Definition of "copperplate" [cop•per•plate]

• A copper printing plate engraved or etched to form a recessed pattern of the matter to be printed. (noun)
• A print or engraving made by using such a plate. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "With this style, the text is etched onto a copperplate, which is pressed into the invitation - creating a raised effect."
• "On the present occasion he took pains to make it even more careful than usual, and the result was that it looked not unlike the "copperplate" handwriting a girl would learn at the convent, though an expert would probably have declared it disguised."
• "More formal historic scripts, such as copperplate or Spencerian, use ­either a square nib or quill, or a point."