boards : Common term for the covers of a hardbound book.

dust jacket : A protective and often decorative wrapper, usually made of paper which wraps around the binding of a book.

gilt : The decorative application of gold or gold coloring to a portion of a book. The edges of the text block, or an inlay in the front cover of the boards, for example.

remainder mark : Usually an ink marking of some sort which indicates that the book was designated a remainder. In most cases, it can be found on the edges of the text block in the form of a marker stripe or a stamp of some sort.

Remainder marks considerably lower the overall collectibility of a title, although, in some cases, they are acceptable to a collector.

Cloth : Generally refers to a hardcover with cloth covering the outside of the book covers.