The legal term “boilerplate” — referring to standard language used in contracts, warranties, and other legal documents — has its origins in industry. A ‘boiler plate’ originally referred to sheet steel used in the manufacture of boilers which was pre-manufactured before being assembled. An analogy was made between these and the steel plates that were distributed in the late 19th-century to newspapers containing pre-written syndicated columns or advertisements, which came to be known as “boilerplates”. These were in common use by publishers until the 1950s.