codex
[
koh
-deks]
/ˈkoʊ dɛks/
noun
,
plural
codices
[
koh
-d
uh
-seez,
kod
-
uh
-]
/ˈkoʊ dəˌsiz, ˈkɒd ə-/
(
Show IPA
)
1.
a quire of manuscript pages held together by stitching: the earliest form of book, replacing the scrolls and wax tablets of earlier times.
2.
a manuscript volume, usually of an ancient classic or the Scriptures.
3.
Archaic.
a code; book of statutes.
Origin
1575-85;
<
Latin
cōdex, caudex
tree-trunk, book (formed orig. from wooden tablets); cf.
code
Examples from the web for
codex
But they don't really fit the definition of a
codex
.
And as the devices have quickly accrued some of the same prestige as the old
codex
menus.
The
codex
in turn became the printed book, for which the term is not used.
The
codex
was an improvement over the scroll in several ways.
British Dictionary definitions for
codex
codex
/
ˈkəʊdɛks
/
noun
(
pl
)
codices
(
ˈkəʊdɪˌsiːz
;
ˈkɒdɪ-
)
1.
a volume, in book form, of manuscripts of an ancient text
2.
(
obsolete
) a legal code
Word Origin
C16: from Latin: tree trunk, wooden block, book
Word Origin and History for
codex
n.
"manuscript volume (especially an ancient one)," 1845, from Latin
codex
(see
code
(n.)).