codex

noun

co·dex ˈkō-ˌdeks

plural codices ˈkō-də-ˌsēz

ˈkä-

: a manuscript book especially of Scripture, classics, or ancient annals

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In the 3rd and 4th centuries A.D., the codex began to replace the older scroll as the preferred form for longer writings. Unlike the scroll, this wonderful invention permitted writing on both sides of a sheet, made it easy to locate a particular passage, and could contain a very long piece of writing. Codices (note this unusual plural form) were usually written on parchment, the specially prepared skin of a sheep or goat, or papyrus, the ancestor of paper. Because codices were handwritten, there were few copies of any single codex, and sometimes only a single copy. Today we no longer write our books in longhand, but the modern book has kept basically the same form as the original codices.

Examples of codex in a Sentence

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His death successfully destroys the codex, keeping Knull in his prison. —

Sydney Bucksbaum, EW.com, 25 Oct. 2024 The pair turn into a tracking device when Venom fully manifests, and the codex can only be destroyed if one of them dies, and so the story is essentially a chase movie through the American Southwest. —

Katie Walsh, Chicago Tribune, 24 Oct. 2024 The pair turn into a tracking device when Venom fully manifests, and the codex can be destroyed only if one of them dies, so the story is essentially a chase movie through the American Southwest. —

Katie Walsh, Los Angeles Times, 24 Oct. 2024 The only thing that can free him is a codex (which looks like a little glowing, swirling gem), which, because this is ostensibly a movie about Venom, is actually part of Venom’s body. —

Alex Abad-Santos, Vox, 7 Dec. 2018 See all Example Sentences for codex