endpaper

Etymology

From end + paper.

endpaper means Either of two folded sheets of paper used to connect the front and back covers of a book to the first and last pages; one side of each endpaper is glued to the cover board, and the other side forms a flyleaf. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 87 out of 100.

Why this word is great

ENDPAPER — [Noun] A folded sheet of paper, one half pasted to the inner cover of a book and the other forming a free leaf, binding the text block to its case. From end (meaning "terminal part") and paper (meaning "material for writing or printing on"). Unlike "flyleaf" (which names only the unattached leaf) or "paste-down" (which specifies only the glued half), "endpaper" denotes the entire, functional hinge—a single entity that is both fixed and free. It is the cool, marbled expanse first touched upon opening, the ghostly impression of a forgotten owner's name in careful ink, and the sudden, weightless quiet when you turn from the story's final sentence to this blank, protective shore. A modest hinge where the world of the mind meets the wear of the hand.

noun

Either of two folded sheets of paper used to connect the front and back covers of a book to the first and last pages; one side of each endpaper is glued to the cover board, and the other side forms a flyleaf.“Meronyms: flyleaf, pastedown”