Bookhead

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The upper edge of a book or the top margin of a printed page, where the spine and pages meet at the head
2. The top part of a book's pages, the edge that sits opposite the foot when the volume is held upright
3. The uppermost border of a bound volume or printed leaf, particularly the margin nearest the top of the page

Etymology: The first half of this compound is one of English's most surprising roots. "Book" comes from Old English "bōc," which is linked to "Buche," the German word for beech. The likely reason is that early Germanic peoples carved their runes into thin beechwood boards, so a "book" was originally a beech-wood writing tablet. "Head" comes from Old English "hēafod," and is one of the oldest words in the language, unchanged in its core meaning of the top part of the body. Put together, "bookhead" is a transparent compound, and its sense follows from its parts: the head of a book, meaning its top edge or the upper margin of a page. The term is uncommon, so its precise use depends on context, such as bookbinding or printing, where "head" is a standard name for the top edge of a book. Its meaning is clear from the two words without any special history.