ex lib.
Writing & Everyday abbreviation · Latin
| Stands for | Ex libris (from the books of) |
|---|---|
| Categories | Writing & Everyday |
ex lib. stands for Ex libris (from the books of), a Latin abbreviation.
Precedes the owner's name on a bookplate, the decorative label pasted inside a book's front cover to show ownership. Bookplates are collected as a minor art form in their own right.
Example: A worn bookplate inside the cover reads "Ex lib. Eleanor Marsh" above an engraved owl and a motto.
Usage notes
The phrase usually appears in full as "Ex Libris," and in English ex libris also serves as a noun meaning a bookplate. Printed bookplates date back to 15th-century Germany, and Albrecht Dürer designed several. Collectors' societies classify them by printing technique, artist and period.
Related abbreviations
More Latin abbreviations
- D.V. – Deo volente (God willing)
- del. – Delineavit (drew it)
- e.g. – Exempli gratia (for example)
- et al. – Et alii (and others)
- et seq. – Et sequens (and what follows)
- etc. – Et cetera (and the rest)
- F.D. – Fidei defensor (Defender of the Faith)
- fec. – Fecit (made it)
- fl. – Floruit (flourished)
- i.a. – Inter alia (among other things)
- i.e. – Id est (that is)
- ibid. – Ibidem (in the same place)