Male or female for photocopier

Question

I could not find photocopier in the Library Index so used Larousse online dictionnaire. This gave both photocopieur (n.m.) and photocopieuse (n.f.)  I chose the masculin form so did not mark myself down.  Is there a reason to prefer the feminin form?

Accepted Answer

Hi Vanessa,
This is interesting one -
Personally I have only heard 'une photocopieuse', to describe the machine you might have at home.
I think the masculine form, 'photocopieur' is used for the bigger industrial machines you will find in offices.
Finding the right word is always problematic and this page might help you?
https://french.kwiziq.com/online-translators-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly-translations?utm_source=&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=
Bonne Continuation!

Answer

Or maybe they refer to the people operating the machine? ;)