incunabula
[ in-kyoo-nab-yuh-luh, ing- ]
See synonyms for: incunabulaincunabulum on Thesaurus.com
plural noun,singular in·cu·nab·u·lum [in-kyoo-nab-yuh-luhm, ing-]. /ˌɪn kyʊˈnæb yə ləm, ˌɪŋ-/.
extant copies of books produced in the earliest stages (before 1501) of printing from movable type.
the earliest stages or first traces of anything.
Origin of incunabula
1First recorded in 1815–25; from Latin: “straps holding a baby in a cradle, earliest home, birthplace,” probably equivalent to unattested *incūnā(re) “to place in a cradle” (in- in-2 + unattested -cūnāre, verbal derivative of cūnae “cradle”) + -bula, plural of -bulum suffix of instrument; def. 1 as translation of German Wiegendrucke
Other words from incunabula
- in·cu·nab·u·lar, adjective
- post·in·cu·nab·u·la, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
British Dictionary definitions for incunabula
incunabula
/ (ˌɪnkjʊˈnæbjʊlə) /
pl nsingular -lum (-ləm)
any book printed before 1501
the infancy or earliest stages of something; beginnings
Origin of incunabula
1C19: from Latin, originally: swaddling clothes, hence beginnings, from in- ² + cūnābula cradle
Derived forms of incunabula
- incunabular, adjective
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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