Where does “bible” come from?
Bible comes from Middle English bible, from Latin biblia, from Ancient Greek βιβλίον, ultimately from Ancient Greek βίβλος meaning "book," with the diminutive suffix -ιον.
bible (English): An exemplar of the Bible; A comprehensive manual...
Definitions
- An exemplar of the Bible; A comprehensive manual...
Ancestry of “bible”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | bible | Any book that is of extensive length; A... |
| 2 | Old French | bible | — |
| 3 | Medieval Latin | biblia | book; Christian scripture; books |
| 4 | Latin | Biblia | the Bible |
| 5 | Ancient Greek | βιβλία | nominative/accusative/vocative plural of βιβλίον |
| 6 | Ancient Greek | βιβλίον | Strip of papyrus; Small book, tablet, letter; Any... |
| 7 | Ancient Greek | βυβλίον | Strip of papyrus; Small book, tablet, letter; Any... |
| 8 | Ancient Greek | βύβλος | papyrus; book |
| 9 | Phoenician | 𐤂𐤁𐤋 | Byblos |
| 10 | Phoenician | 𐤀𐤋 | god, deity |
| 11 | Proto-Semitic | ʔil- | deity, god |