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Origin and history of folio

folio(n.)

mid-15c., from Late Latin folio "leaf or sheet of paper," from Latin folio, ablative of folium "leaf" (source also of Italian foglia, French feuille, Spanish hoja), from PIE *bhol-yo- "leaf" (source also of Greek phyllon "leaf," Gaelic bile "leaflet, blossom"), suffixed form of root *bhel- (3) "to thrive, bloom." Ablative of location, because this was used in page references. Meaning "volume of the largest size" first attested 1620s.

also from mid-15c.

Entries linking to folio

feuillemorte(adj.)

"of the color of a dead leaf," 1640s, fieulamort, from French feuille morte, literally "dead leaf" (see folio + mortal (adj.)). A word of loose spelling, variants include phyllamort, filemot, philomot.

foliate(v.)

1660s (implied in foliated), "to apply silver leaf," from Medieval Latin foliatus "leaved, leafy," from Latin folium "a leaf" (see folio). Meaning "put forth leaves" is from 1775. Related: Foliated; foliating.

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leaf
Old English leaf "leaf of a plant, foliage; page of a book, sheet of paper," from Proto-Germanic *lauba- (source also of Old Saxon lof, Old Norse lauf, Old Frisian laf, Dutch loof, Old High German loub, German Laub "foliage, leaves," Gothic laufs "leaf, foliage"), perhaps from PI
portfolio
"movable receptacle for detached papers or prints," 1722, porto folio; 1719 as port folio, from Italian portafoglio "a case for carrying loose papers," from porta, imperative of portare "to carry" (from PIE root *per- (2) "to lead, pass over") + foglio "sheet, leaf," from Latin f
page
[S]ome confound folio and page ; when as a folio or leaf, properly comprehends two pages; others cite a Book by folio's...
disremember
[The Port Folio, March 1810]...
gnarled
(for which the sole authority is the folio of 1623), whence it came into general use in the nineteenth century" [OED]....
pumpkin
[from "A Song for the Fourth of July, 1806," in The Port Folio, Philadelphia, Aug. 30, 1806]...
Shakespeare
The spelling is that of the first folio. The name was variously written in contemporary records, as all surnames were....
number
c. 1300, "sum, aggregate of a collection," from Anglo-French noumbre, Old French nombre and directly from Latin numerus "a number, quantity," from PIE root *nem- "assign, allot; take." The meaning "written symbol or figure of arithmetic value" is from late 14c. The meaning "singl
gape
early 13c., from an unrecorded Old English word or else from Old Norse gapa "to open the mouth wide, gape" (see gap (n.)). Related: Gaped; gaping. To gape is in this connection to look with open mouth, and hence with the bumpkin's idle curiosity, listlessness, or ignorant wonder
book
Middle English bok, from Old English boc "book, writing, written document," generally referred (despite phonetic difficulties) to Proto-Germanic *bōk(ō)-, from *bokiz "beech" (source also of German Buch "book" Buche "beech;" see beech), the notion being of beechwood tablets on wh

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