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Glite Dictionary
octavo

octavo

1 9.9
A small book size when printers fold a large sheet of paper three times
  • noun
  • /ɒkˈteɪvoʊ/
  • Specialized
: octavo
  • After folding the large sheet, we ended up with an octavo that was perfect for our presentation.
  • printed octavos

That was how there came to be at Unseen University the octavo, the greatest of all grimoires, formerly owned by the creator of the universe.

Examples

  • The majority of Morris's books were printed in quarto and octavo volumes, and even the number of sextodecimo books (six) far surpasses the number of completed folios.

    Academic text (2017)

  • Materials available for general and choral classrooms are plentiful and include textbooks, octavos, resource books, websites, and audio and video recordings.

    Academic text (2006)

  • Offer additional background information not printed in the octavos.

    Academic text (2007)

  • What if I thought something as precious as Poe deserved octavo?

    Blog text (22)

  • " It was an octavo volume titled De Cristos Mecanica.

    Fiction book (1992)

  • The size corresponds with a Venetian octavo, and the typeface is an Italian one.

    The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)

  • A catalogue consisting of 39 octavo pages was printed in 1655, and its title may be translated as follows:

    Academic text (1994)

  • Among the rows of music books, octavos, recordings, and scores were about a dozen teachers searching for new additions to their curricula.

    Academic text (2006)

  • Sixth graders learn to read from three-part choral octavos.

    Academic text (2010)

  • Teachers may consider using labels other than "tenor" and "baritone" to identify parts in printed octavos (many publishers already do this).

    Academic text (2008)

Synonyms

8vo
vsoctavo
  • Archaic
9.9

A book size made by folding each sheet three times to make sixteen pages

is the same size but written in full word letters
eightvo
vsoctavo
  • Archaic
9.9

A book size made by folding each sheet three times to make sixteen pages

is the same size but often written as a compact abbreviation

How Small

sextodecimo
  • Archaic
9.9
duodecimo
  • Specialized
9.9
octavo
  • Specialized
1 9.9
quarto
  • Archaic
1 9.9
folio
  • Specialized
3 9.5

Surface Forms

octavo singular
octavos plural

Etymology

Octavo comes from the Latin octavus meaning 'eighth', the same root you see in octagon. It was called this because a sheet of paper was folded to make eight leaves, so an octavo is a smaller book size made from one sheet folded into eight parts, which gives sixteen pages.