bookplate

noun

book·​plate ˈbu̇k-ˌplāt How to pronounce bookplate (audio)
: a book owner's identification label that is usually pasted to the inside front cover of a book

Examples of bookplate in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
After the delivery person dropped off the package, Joely Day, an editor, opened it up to reveal stacks of rectangular bookplates signed by Fosse in a spidery hand, in varying densities of ink. Rebecca Mead, The New Yorker, 1 July 2024 In 1742, Franklin repeatedly suspended work on Pamela to print lottery tickets, licenses for peddlers and public houses, sheriff’s warrants, naval certificates, soap wrappers, medical cures, bookplates for libraries, 1,000 hat bills, Irish Society tickets, and thousands of advertisements. Adam Smyth, Smithsonian Magazine, 16 May 2024 Items range in size and price from Ex Libris bookplates to original 18th-century maps. Laura Itzkowitz, Vogue, 25 Mar. 2024 The artist Robert Pruitt designed an ex libris bookplate for Jay-Z’s private library on Black culture and society. Sarah Medford, WSJ, 4 Mar. 2021 Members got a booklet, an enamel badge imprinted with the Puffin logo, and a set of bookplates. Matthew Gavin Frank, Harper's Magazine, 2 June 2023 Each contains her bookplate. Roxana Robinson, The New Yorker, 16 Nov. 2022 Details include a Tom Ford signed bookplate. Laurie Brookins, The Hollywood Reporter, 29 Dec. 2021 These are his personal copies of his famous works with his [personal] bookplate [a line drawing of a stirrup] inside, and there’s only one of each. Tommy Cummings, Dallas News, 9 Mar. 2023

Word History

First Known Use

1791, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of bookplate was in 1791

Dictionary Entries Near bookplate

Cite this Entry

“Bookplate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bookplate. Accessed 17 Dec. 2024.

Kids Definition

bookplate

noun
book·​plate ˈbu̇k-ˌplāt How to pronounce bookplate (audio)
: a label pasted inside a book to show who owns it

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