Cedarvale Foundation

Workshops in local history and traditional crafts

Glossary

Plain meanings for the words used in the workshop notes.

Terms (44)

Terms are in alphabetical order. Each is short and plain; the workshop notes explain them in use.

Ascender
The part of a letter that rises above the x-height, as in b, d, h and l.
Awl
A pointed tool for making holes in paper and card before sewing.
Baren
A flat, hand-held pad or disc for rubbing the back of paper when printing from a block.
Baseline
The line that letters sit on.
Bedstone
The fixed lower millstone of a pair.
Bifolium
A sheet of paper folded once in half, making two leaves (four pages).
Bone folder
A smooth, flat tool for creasing folds crisply.
Brayer
A hand roller used to spread ink thinly and evenly.
Codex
A stack of folded leaves sewn along one edge; the ancestor of the modern book.
Corroboration
Confirming a fact with a second, independent source.
Directory (trade)
A printed list of residents, trades and businesses in a town.
Edition (print)
A batch of prints taken from the same block; each is often numbered, such as 3/10.
Ferry
A boat service across a river at a fixed crossing point.
Ford
A shallow place where a river can be crossed on foot or by cart.
Fulling
Beating or pressing woollen cloth in water so that it thickens and tightens.
Gouge
A carving tool with a curved or V-shaped blade, used to cut away parts of a block.
Grain (paper)
The direction in which most fibres lie in machine-made paper.
Head (water)
The vertical distance that water falls, which decides how much power it can give.
Leat
A channel that carries water from a river to a mill wheel; also called a mill race.
Lightfastness
How well a dye resists fading in light.
Millpond
A pond that stores water behind a weir for use at a mill.
Mirror image
A reversed copy of a design, as seen in a mirror; needed when carving letters for a print.
Mordant
A metal salt, such as alum, that helps dye bond to a fibre.
Multure
The share of the grain that a medieval miller kept as payment.
Nib
The metal tip of a dip pen.
Old Style and New Style
The Julian and Gregorian calendars. Britain and its colonies changed in September 1752.
Overshot wheel
A water wheel turned by the weight of water poured onto its top.
Parish register
A church record of baptisms, marriages and burials.
Primary source
A record made at the time by someone involved or present.
Provenance
The history of a source: who made it, when, why and where it has been kept.
Registration (printing)
Lining up successive blocks so that colours sit in the right place.
Relief print
A print made from the raised parts of a block, which take the ink.
Runner stone
The upper millstone, which turns above the bedstone.
Scouring
Washing fibre to remove oils and finishes before dyeing.
Secondary source
A work written later that discusses events, such as a history book.
Section (signature)
A group of folded sheets nested together and sewn as a unit.
Spine
The folded edge of a book where the sections are joined.
Tannin
A natural substance in tea, oak galls and walnut hulls that helps plant fibres hold dye.
Text block
All the sections of a book sewn together before a cover is added.
Tithe map
A map made after an 1836 law in England and Wales, showing plots of land and recording who owned and farmed them.
Undershot wheel
A water wheel turned by water flowing underneath it.
Vat dye
A dye, such as indigo, applied in a special bath and turning its colour in the air.
Weir
A low dam across a river that raises the water level upstream.
X-height
The height of small letters such as x, a and o.

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