Does one write it ex libris, ex-libris, or exlibris?
As said above, the inscription often found on a bookplate is “ex libris” – two Latin words meaning ‘from the books of’. If referring to a bookplate as an object, it should be written “ex-libris”, as it is a composite of two non-English words. The same is true of terms such as “savoir-faire”, etc. However, an increasing number of people use “exlibris”, influenced by German (in which this is correct, but takes a capital E!) but not by French where it is ‘ex-libris’ as in English… Today, one often sees collectors or researchers referred to as “exlibrists” or “ex-librists”… The word does not appear in most dictionaries, but as the English language does not have a regulatory authority like the Académie Française, we can all happily get away with it!
