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backlist

[bak-list]
noun
  1. the books that a publisher has kept in print over several years, as distinguished from newly issued titles.
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adjective
  1. Also back·list·ed. placed or maintained on a backlist.
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verb (used with object)
  1. to place on a backlist.
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Origin of backlist

First recorded in 1945–50; back2 + list1
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

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British Dictionary definitions for backlist

backlist

noun
  1. a publisher's previously published books that are still availableSee also front list, mid-list
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for backlist

n.

1946, in publishing, from back (adj.) + list (n.). As a verb, "to put on the back list," from 1983. Related: Backlisted.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper