incunabula: Meaning and Definition of

in•cu•nab•u•la

Pronunciation: (in"kyoo-nab'yu-lu, ing"-), [key]
— sing. -lum
  1. extant copies of books produced in the earliest stages (before 1501) of printing from movable type.
  2. the earliest stages or first traces of anything.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.