autopen

noun

au·​to·​pen ˈȯ-tō-ˌpen 

plural autopens

: a device that mechanically reproduces a person's signature

Today autograph collecting is a growing avocation, enlivened by a renewed interest in musical manuscripts and scores and a fad for the rather rare letters of show-business figures. It is complicated by the autopen, which allows public figures to sign dozens of documents at one time …

—Jeffrey Simpson, Architectural Digest, December 1988

The machines sign letters at about the same pace as does the human hand. An autopen machine that automatically signs a stack of documents can spit out roughly 500 signatures an hour; those with manual document feeders, about 200 an hour.

—Nancy Benac, Associated Press, 27 June 2011

Everyone knows senators don't sign the vast majority of their letters; an autopen does that.

—Larry Pressler, New York Times, 23 Jan. 2000

Word History

Etymology

auto- entry 1 + pen entry 3

First Known Use

1940, in the meaning defined above

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