| dittograph |
| Definition: A letter or word that is incorrectly repeated by a copyist making a written copy of a text. |
| Example: When making the first written copy of the Ten Commandments, the scribe accidentally writes: "Thou shalt not not kill." |
| Etymology: The term derives from a Greek word meaning "double writing." |
| Oxford English Dictionary: Its first citation
is from 1874: "The letters in italics stand, probably, for probeidem, i.e. a dittograph for probe and pridem." (T. H. Key Language 407 note) |