DictionaryjacketOfficial file
noun

jacket

An official file of records about a person.

The clerk retrieves the employee's personnel jacket.

Etymology

A jacket is an outer covering. The record sense transfers that name to the cover or folder enclosing a person’s official papers and then to the file itself.

More examples

  • Several case jackets filled the cabinet.
  • He added the report to the prisoner's jacket.
  • The investigator reviewed the old service jacket.

Forms

jacket · jackets

Similar words

file
The usual term for a collection of official records.
dossier
A collection of documents about a particular person or subject.