A strip of material attached to or forming the back of something; a reinforcing strip on the spine of a bound book.
Compound of 'back' + 'strip' (from Old Dutch 'strippe'). Originated in bookbinding terminology as craftspeople developed techniques to reinforce book spines.
Old book backstrips tell stories—the leather, gold lettering, and decorative patterns were status symbols, and rare books can be identified and valued partly by their backstrip quality!
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