the.com/bookend
The unsung bodyguard standing between order and an avalanche of paperbacks
means A weighted or braced support placed at the end of a row of books to keep them upright, or by extension either of two things marking the start and finish of something.
from A plain compound from English: 'book' (Old English bōc, the same word that gave us the leaf-and-page sense) plus 'end' (Old English ende). The literal object-name arrived alongside the rise of the home library and the upright shelf — books only need an 'end' to stop them sliding when they stand spine-out rather than lying flat. The figurative sense, two matching events framing a stretch of time, grew naturally from the picture of a pair holding everything in between.
- physics
- Works only if heavier than the books it stops
- origin
- Popularized once cheap printing flooded homes with books
- language
- Means to flank something at both ends
- design
- Often sold in pairs, frequently used solo
- materials
- Made from marble, cast iron, even repurposed bricks
don quixote — cervantes' 1605 novel, often cited as the first modern novel, paired with its 1615 sequel as literary bookends
the odyssey and iliad — homer's two epics that frame ancient greek literature, composed around 8th century bce