codex

Definition

An early manuscript book.

Etymology

From Latin cōdex, variant form of caudex (“tree trunk, book, notebook”); compare caudex (in botany). Doublet of code.

Example Sentences

• "From its inception, the index has provided a window onto the history of the book, for it took the advent of a particular type of book — the codex, a sheaf of pages fastened along one edge — to make an index a practical possibility."

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