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rubber stamp

1. A piece of rubber affixed to a handle and bearing raised characters used to make ink impressions, as of names or dates.

2. also rub·ber·stamp (rŭbər-stămp)

a. A person or body that gives perfunctory approval or endorsement of a policy without assessing its merit.

b. A perfunctory approval or endorsement.

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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