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History vocabulary · Sources and Archives

Colophon

Meaning in history, with examples

nounAdvanced term

In history, colophon means: A statement, usually at a book's end, giving information about its copying or production.

In Turkish: ketebe kaydı, kolofon

How it is used

A manuscript colophon may identify the scribe, place or date; not every one provides all three.

Example sentences

  1. The colophon names the copyist but leaves the place unstated.

    Production information can be useful while remaining incomplete.

  2. She checked the colophon against the handwriting elsewhere in the volume.

    The statement itself can be tested against physical evidence.

Common collocations

  • a dated colophon
  • read the colophon
  • manuscriptA book or document written by hand, especially one produced before printing became common; also an author's text before it is published.
  • source criticismThe careful evaluation of a historical source to judge where it came from, who made it and why, and how reliable and useful it is for a particular question.

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