codex
Meaning
An ancient manuscript text in book form.
An official list of medicines, chemicals, etc.
Structure
Usage
The library's prized possession is a medieval codex containing illuminated scriptures.
The findings were documented in accordance with the relevant pharmaceutical codex.
Scholars study the codex to understand pre-Columbian Mesoamerican culture.
Etymology
The word codex originates from the Latin 'caudex' or 'codex', which literally meant a tree trunk or a block of wood. This evolved to refer specifically to wooden tablets coated with wax, which were bound together to form the earliest type of book, replacing the scroll. The semantic shift from a physical wooden block to a bound book captures the technological innovation in ancient writing materials. In modern English, it retains its core meaning of an ancient manuscript book and has extended to authoritative lists, such as a pharmacopoeia.
Analysis
cod is from Latin 'caudex' or 'codex', meaning a block of wood, a tree trunk, or a wooden tablet for writing. ex is a Latin suffix often used to form nouns.