in·cu·nab·u·lum (ĭn'kyə-năb'yə-ləm, ĭng'-)
n., pl., -la (-lə).

1. A book printed before 1501; an incunable.
2. An artifact of an early period.

[New Latin incūnābulum, from sing. of Latin incūnābula, swaddling clothes, cradle : in-, in; see in-² + cūnābula, cradle, infancy (from cūnae, cradle).]

incunabular in'cu·nab'u·lar (-lər) adj.

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

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