bifolium

noun

bi·​fo·​li·​um (ˈ)bī-ˈfō-lē-əm 

plural bifolia (ˈ)bī-ˈfō-lē-ə 

: two sheets of paper, parchment, or similar material folded together to make four leaves

… verses are written, not on two sheets of paper, but on the recto and verso of the first leaf of a bifolium.

—Sara S. Hodson, Times Literary Supplement, 24 June 1988

Though incomplete, in its present state it occupies close to eleven hundred folios, so large that each bifolium was formed from a whole skin.

—Penn R. Szittya, Speculum, April 1999

Word History

First Known Use

1938, in the meaning defined above

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