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Etymology data from Wiktionary via Wiktextract (CC BY-SA 4.0). Chinese character data from the 說文解字, the Taiwan MOE 國語辭典簡編本 (CC BY-ND 3.0 TW) and HSK/TOCFL lists.

Explanations are written by a local model (gemma4) and only published after a verification pass against the cited sources. How it works.

English

book

/bʊk/
A collection of sheets of paper bound together to hinge at one edge, containing printed or written material, pictures, etc.

    Etymology graph

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    • borrowed
    • derived
    • parts
    • meaning component
    • sound component
    • related
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    Origin

    Etymology 1

    From Middle English bok, book, from Old English bōc, from Proto-West Germanic *bōk, from Proto-Germanic *bōks. Bookmaker sense by clipping.

    Cognates

    Cognate with Scots beuk, buik, buke (“book”), Yola buke (“book”), North Frisian Bok, buk, bök (“book”), Saterland Frisian Bouk (“book”), West Frisian, Dutch boek (“book”), Alemannic German Buech (“book”), Bavarian Buach (“book”), Central Franconian Booch, Buch (“book”), German, Luxembourgish Buch (“book”), German Low German Book (“book”), Limburgish book, Bouk (“book”), Vilamovian büch (“book”), Yiddish בוך (bukh, “book”), Danish bog (“book”), Elfdalian buok (“book”), Faroese, Icelandic bók (“book”), Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk and Swedish bok (“book”).

    Etymology 2

    From Middle English booken, boken, from Old English bōcian, ġebōcian, from the noun (see above).

    From Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.

    Lineage

    • inheritedMiddle Englishbok
      • inheritedOld Englishbōc “book”
        • inheritedProto-West Germanic*bōk
          • inheritedProto-Germanic*bōks
            • derivedProto-Indo-European*bʰeh₂ǵos
            • derivedProto-Indo-European*bʰeh₂g- “to distribute”
    • inheritedMiddle Englishbooken
      • inheritedOld Englishbōcian
        • derivedOld Englishthe

    Related: Scots beuk, Yola buke, North Frisian Bok, Saterland Frisian Bouk, Dutch boek, Alemannic German Buech, Bavarian Buach, Central Franconian Booch, Luxembourgish Buch, German Low German Book, Limburgish book, Vilamovian büch, Yiddish בוך, Danish bog, Elfdalian buok, Icelandic bók, Swedish bok

    Words built on it: by-book, off-book, book world

    Meanings

    noun
    1. A collection of sheets of paper bound together to hinge at one edge, containing printed or written material, pictures, etc.
    2. A long work fit for publication, typically prose, such as a novel or textbook, and typically published as such a bound collection of sheets, but now sometimes electronically as an e-book.
    3. A major division of a long work.
    4. A record of betting (from the use of a notebook to record what each person has bet).
    5. A bookmaker (a person who takes bets on sporting events and similar); bookie; turf accountant.
    6. A convenient collection, in a form resembling a book, of small paper items for individual use.
    verb
    1. To reserve (something) for future use.
    2. To write down, to register or record in a book or as in a book.
    3. To add a name to the list of people who are participating in something.
    4. To record the name and other details of a suspected offender and the offence for later judicial action.
    5. To issue a caution to, usually a yellow card, or a red card if a yellow card has already been issued.
    6. To travel very fast.

    Sources

    • Wiktionary (via Wiktextract / kaikki.org) — CC BY-SA 4.0
    • Wiktionary: book