[ecolonsmak]

In the 19th century, a boilerplate referred to a plate of steel used as a template in the construction of steam boilers. These standardized metal plates reminded editors of the often trite and unoriginal work that ad writers and others sometimes submitted for publication.

[Zigurd]

Without further research, my impression of where that term originated was in drafting contracts: The parts, like confidentiality, that are standardized and a component of most contracts, are the "boilerplate," in contrast with the parts, like a statement of work, that are specific to a particular contract. Did it jump from writing, in general, to legal contract drafting?

[larrik]

I think "boilerplate code" came from the legal term, but the article dives deeper to figure out where the legal system got it in the first place.