palaeotype

English

Alternative forms

• paleotype

Etymology

From New Latin palaeotypus (“which dates from the early days of printing; incunabulum, paleotype”), synchronically palaeo- +‎ type.

Noun

palaeotype (plural palaeotypes)

1. An old book printed between 1500 and 1550.
   • 1854, Jos. C. Coswell, The Astor Library:

     The library of the British Museum is […] rich in manuscripts, rich in palaeotypes, rich in the science, history, and literature of every age and nation.

   • 2000, Manuscripta Orientalia: International Journal for Oriental Manuscript Research, Volumes 6-7, page 22:

     The identification of this edition as an incunabulum, and not an early palaeotype, evokes doubts in a number of scholars (for example, it was not included in the Census).

2. (historical) A phonetic alphabet developed by Alexander John Ellis to represent all spoken sounds of English by means of the printing types that were in common use in the mid-19th century, one of the predecessors of IPA.
   • 1889, Alexander Ellis, On Early English Pronunciation:

     Of course for publication in a newspaper, my palaeotype would not answer, but my glossotype would enable the author to give his Pennsylvania German in an English form and much more intelligibly.

Related terms

• palaeotypical
• palaeotypically