Glossary of Terms: Recto, Verso, Spread
Continued here, a series of semi-regular glossary entries to look at the odd, quirky jargon of publishing:
- recto—in traditional book publishing, a righthand page in a book; recto pages always have odd page numbering (e.g., pages 1, 3, 5)
- verso—in traditional book publishing, a lefthand page in a book; named for the reverse or back side of the page; verso pages always have even page numbering (e.g., pages 2, 4, 6)
- spread—in traditional book publishing, two facing pages, a verso and a recto (e.g., pages 2-3). The area where the verso and recto pages meet is called the gutter.
© Laura Edlund 2010