Interleaf

Part of speech: verb

Pronunciation: /ˈɪntəliːf/

Definitions

1. A sheet placed between the pages of a book or document to separate or protect them
2. An extra leaf inserted amid pages in a volume for protection or additional content
3. A sheet of paper added between pages in printed materials usually for separation or spacing purposes

Etymology: Printers have long needed a way to add blank or spacer sheets inside a book without disturbing its pages, and "interleaf" is the compound they built for it: the Latin prefix "inter-", meaning "between", attached to the ordinary English word "leaf". A leaf, in the sense of a single sheet of a book, takes its name from the same word as the leaf on a tree, since a page was once a thin sheet like a leaf, and the English word traces back through Old English "lēaf" to ancient Germanic roots. The compound is transparent: an interleaf is literally a leaf placed between others. Its usefulness lies in that plainness, and it has stayed in the trade vocabulary for the same reason, describing a sheet inserted between printed pages, often for protection, separation, or spacing of illustrations.

Synonyms: insert, interleave