Inscription at the end of a book

• A publisher's emblem printed in a book (usually on the title page)
• Work hard to penetrate punctuation mark by which publisher may be recognised

The Collaborative International Dictionary Word definitions in The Collaborative International Dictionary
Colophon \Col"o*phon\ (k[o^]l"[-o]*f[o^]n), n. [L. colophon finishing stroke, Gr. kolofw`n; cf. L. culmen top, collis hill. Cf. Holm .] An inscription, monogram, or cipher, containing the place and date of publication, printer's name, etc., formerly ...

Wikipedia Word definitions in Wikipedia
Colophon (; ) was an ancient city in Ionia . Founded around the turn of the first millennium BC, it was likely one of the oldest of the twelve cities of the Ionian League . In ancient times it was located between Lebedos (120 stadia to the west) and Ephesus ...

Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary Word definitions in Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
1774, "publisher's inscription at the end of a book," from Latin colophon , from Greek kolophon "summit, final touch" (see hill ).

WordNet Word definitions in WordNet
n. a publisher's emblem printed in a book (usually on the title page)

Wiktionary Word definitions in Wiktionary
n. 1 In manuscripts (typically before the invention of printing), the note, usually at the end, left by the scribe who copied it, giving information on his exemplar, where and when the copy was made, and sometimes, his own name. 2 A printer's or publisher's ...