card of introduction

English

Noun

card of introduction

1. A small printed card which introduces the bearer, identified by another person who recommends that bearer.

   Synonym: introductory card

   • c. 1921 (date written), Karel Čapek, translated by Paul Selver, R.U.R. (Rossum’s Universal Robots): A Fantastic Melodrama […], Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, Page & Company, published 1923, →OCLC, Act 1:

     Marius
     There's a lady, sir, asking to see you.
     Domin
     A lady? Who is she?
     Marius
     I don't know, sir. She brings this card of introduction.
     Domin
     [Reads the card]: Ah, from President Glory. Ask her to come in.

Usage notes

• A card of introduction is similar to a calling card, and is used under the same circumstances, but differs in that it gives two names — that of the person bearing the card and that of the person recommending the bearer, rather than just the name of the bearer. Often, the card of introduction is simply the calling card of the recommender, with the name of the person being introduced written above.