Roxburgh binding

noun

A style of bookbinding in which the back is plain leather, the sides paper or cloth, the top gilt-edged, and the front and bottom left uncut.

Meanings

nounRoxburgh binding (countable and uncountable, plural Roxburgh bindings)

plural Roxburgh bindings · alternative Roxburghe binding

  1. countableuncountableA style of bookbinding in which the back is plain leather, the sides paper or cloth, the top gilt-edged, and the front and bottom left uncut.

Origin

From the third duke of Roxburgh (in Scotland), a noted book collector who had his books bound this way.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

Roxburgh binding. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Roxburgh%20binding

MLA

“Roxburgh binding.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Roxburgh%20binding. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Roxburgh binding,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Roxburgh%20binding.

Source: Roxburgh binding on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.