superscriptions

Noun

superscription (countable and uncountable, plural superscriptions)

1. Something written (or engraved) on the surface, outside, or above something else; specifically, an address on a letter, envelope, etc.
   • Hovv counterfeit a coin they are vvho friends / Bear in their Superſcription (of the moſt / I vvould be underſtood) in proſperous days / They ſvvarm, but in adverſe vvithdravv their head / Not to be found, though ſought.1671, John Milton, “Samson Agonistes, […].”, in Paradise Regain’d. A Poem. In IV Books. To which is Added, Samson Agonistes, London: […] J[ohn] M[acock] for John Starkey […], →OCLC, page 19, lines...
2. An editorial addition at the beginning, often indicating the authorship of a piece.
   • By a pure error, or perhaps through a confusion in the traditions, Achish the Philistine (of Gath, 1 Sam. xxi., xxvii.), to whom David fled, is called Abimelech in the superscription to Psalm 34.1911, Encyclopædia Britannica
3. The act of superscribing.