Dogeared

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Describes a page in a book or document with its corner folded down to mark a place or section
2. Refers to paper whose corner is creased or turned over usually to keep track of where reading left off
3. Pertains to pages marked by folding the top corner for easy reference or to save a spot

Etymology: The dog in "dog-eared" is the ordinary animal, and the connection is a visual one: a folded corner of paper looks like a dog's ear flopped over. "Eared" is the older half, from the Old English "ēare," which referred to the organ of hearing and was later extended to anything shaped like an ear, such as the handle of a cup or a folded corner. Put together, the compound describes a page that has been folded down at the corner, and once a reader has bent a corner many times, the paper goes soft and limp. The sense "worn, shabby, or battered from heavy use" grew out of that literal fold. A book that has been handled so often that its corners are repeatedly turned down looks used and tattered, so the word came to describe any worn or thumbed object, not just a page.

Synonyms: worn, tattered, torn

Antonyms: new, pristine, untouched