Sextodecimo is spelled phonetically as /ˌsɛks.təʊˈdɛs.ɪ.məʊ/ and refers to a book format that is created by folding a sheet of paper in half four times to create 16 leaves or 32 pages. This word uses the Latin prefix "sexto" meaning "sixth" and "decimo" meaning "tenth". Therefore, it loosely translates to one-sixteenth or one of 16 divisions. The correct spelling of Sextodecimo is essential for book collectors, librarians, and academics who work with older books and manuscripts.
Sextodecimo is a term used in the field of bookbinding and publishing to describe a specific format or size of a book. The word "sextodecimo" is derived from the Latin words "sex" meaning "six" and "decimus" meaning "sixteenth," indicating that the format is one-sixteenth the size of a standard sheet of paper.
In this context, a sextodecimo refers to a small-sized book created by folding sheets of paper into sixteen equal sections or leaves. Each leaf is numbered, resulting in thirty-two pages, including the front and back covers. These miniature books are often characterized by their compactness and portability.
Sextodecimo books were quite common in the 16th to 19th centuries, especially for novels, poetry collections, and literary works. Due to their smaller size, they were more affordable to produce and easier to carry, making reading accessible to a wider audience. However, their reduced size often meant that the text was relatively small and challenging to read.
Today, the term "sextodecimo" is used more broadly to describe any book or publication that possesses the same compact dimensions and format characteristics, irrespective of the specific page count or folding method. This term remains significant in the world of bookbinding and is often used to categorize and classify books based on their size and format.
The word "sextodecimo" comes from Latin roots. It is formed by combining the Latin words "sex" meaning "six" and "decimus" meaning "tenth". In Latin, "sextodecimo" signifies "the sixteenth". In the context of bookbinding and paper size, "sextodecimo" refers to a format in which a sheet of paper is folded into sixteen equal sections or leaves, resulting in a small-sized book.