Library Comes From the Word for Tree Bark
A library is a collection of books and the building that holds it. The Latin root is liber, which first meant the inner bark people wrote on.
A library is an organised collection of books, and the place that keeps them. The Latin *liber* meant the inner bark of a tree before it meant a book, because bark was among the first surfaces people wrote on. Software borrowed the word for a collection of reusable code, keeping the sense of something you borrow rather than rewrite.
- A collection of books, or its building. *The city library.*
- A personal collection. *His library filled two rooms.*
- A set of reusable code (computing). *A graphics library.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | library | The public library. |
| Plural | libraries | Village libraries. |
| Person | librarian | Ask the librarian. |
| Adjective | library | Library card. |
| Related | archive | The national archive. |
How it is used in a sentence
- The library opens at nine.The building.
- She has a library of nineteenth-century novels.A private collection.
- The app uses an open-source library.Computing.
Library words
- Catalogue — the index of what is held
- Stacks — the shelving, often closed to the public
- Reference — material that cannot be borrowed
- Archive — records kept for their historical value
- Legal deposit — the rule requiring publishers to supply copies to certain libraries
From Latin *librarium*, a bookcase, from *liber*, book, originally the inner bark of a tree. French took a different route and calls a library a *bibliothèque*, from Greek.
Library or bookshop?
A library lends; a bookshop sells. French and several other languages use *librairie* for the shop, which causes constant confusion.
What was the Library of Alexandria?
The great research library of the ancient Mediterranean world, founded in the third century BC. It declined gradually rather than burning down in one night.