A standard book format produced by folding a single master sheet of paper four times, yielding 16 leaves or 32 pages. The final page size depends on the dimensions of the parent sheet, but it generally produces a small, pocket-sized volume roughly 4 by 6.5 inches. It was historically popular for mass-market paperbacks and small hymnals.
Heard on the job
We're imposing the poetry chapbook as a sextodecimo so it fits neatly into a standard pocket.
Also heard as
- 16mo
- sixteenmo
Related terms
8vo
A standard book format created by folding a printed sheet three times to form eight leaves.
Quarto
A book size created by folding a printed sheet twice to form four leaves.
Thirty-twomo
A very small book format created by folding a printed sheet into 32 leaves.
12mo
A book format created by folding a printed sheet into twelve leaves.