CC
What does CC Mean?
CC is an acronym for Carbon Copy. It is a throwback term to when the easiest way to get a copy of a physical form was to have a sheet of carbon underneath the form as it was filled out, along with another blank copy of the form directly beneath the carbon sheet. In this manner, when the top-most form was filled out the pressing of the pen on the paper would force the carbon to deposit on the form below it. The end result would be two copies of the filled out form.
What does CC Mean for Email?
In email, adding an email address to the CC field will send a copy of the email to that email address is well. The CC field is typically used for people whom are not the explicit recipient of the email in order to “keep them in the loop,” so to speak.
If an email is sent to recipient A, with recipient B being a CC, recipient A will be able to see the email address of recipient B. This is the primary difference between the CC and BCC options.
When to CC Someone
An example use case would be when an employee is sending an email to a 3rd party company at the request of his or her manager. By adding the manager’s email address to the CC field, the manager will receive a copy of the email thus being updated as to the status of the request.
Note: Be careful not to confuse CC with BCC. Find out more about the BCC option.Return to the Glossary Index
