1. books printed from movable type before 1501, especially in Europe; the earliest printed books.
Usage: plural form; singular is incunabulum; formal, scholarly term; often used in library science and book history
2. the earliest stages or infancy of something; the beginning or origin of a field, art, or discipline.
Usage: figurative use; formal

Examples

• The library's collection of incunabula includes rare editions from the 15th century.
• Collectors prize incunabula for their historical significance and craftsmanship.
• The incunabula of printing technology revolutionized the spread of knowledge.
• Scholars study incunabula to understand the transition from manuscript to print culture.
• The museum displayed several incunabula alongside later printed works to show the evolution of bookmaking.
• The incunabula of the internet were simple text-based websites.
• During the incunabula of modern medicine, doctors relied on limited scientific knowledge.