So, needless to say it's bee a WHILE since I last posted. Phew. I've been pretty busy with the non-web based media (i.e. reading a ton of books). But I have decided to break back into it, and what better than to bring back Wednesday's word?
Today, while reading one of the new books, The Elegance of the Hedgehog, I purchased yesterday at Queen Anne Books (Love that place!), I found several words I didn't know. Now, generally I feel that I'm a fairly loquacious person. However, I have been reading more than my fair share of young adult books lately, and they don't require a lot of overt literary knowledge. As fun as they may be, and boy, do I love them! One word I found particularly interesting was "incunabulum." It was a word I had never heard until I stumbled through its over abundance of vowels on the page. What did it mean, I wondered? Needless to say, I was very happy with the definition I found.
According to the web, Incunabulum is actually a plural version of incunable. It means: a printed work, usually hand written, printed before 1501. It can also refer to old art of that period. Its derivative is Latin, and oddly, the Latin word does not refer to a book...
I felt pretty silly to not know this word, given the amount of attention I give to old books and the like. I most certainly, however, have not been lucky enough to get an incunable in my hands, but it will most definitely be my next book endeavor. I am curious to know how many are out there? I can't imagine there are many books still in solid condition floating around that were printed before 1501. Can you imagine how long it would take to print books by hand, pre printing press?! It's daunting just to think about. How many of you have seen a book this old in the flesh?
Until next time,
C
image from 32rarebooks.com
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