Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “book” come from?

Book comes from Middle English booke, from Old English bōc, from Proto-Germanic būkaz, from Proto-Indo-European roots including bʰeh₂ǵos, ultimately connected to the concept of beech wood used for writing surfaces.

book (English): A collection of sheets of paper bound together to...

Definitions

  1. A collection of sheets of paper bound together to...

Ancestry of “book”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishbookebook; Alternative form of bouk
2Old Englishbōcbeech; book
3Proto-Germanicbōk—
4Proto-Germanicbakanąto bake
5Proto-Indo-Europeanbʰeh₃g-to bake, to roast, to fry

Words derived from “book”

  • books
  • textbook
  • notebook
  • handbook
  • booklet
  • bookstore
  • booking
  • workbook
  • Facebook
  • bogus
  • bookmate
  • bookcase
  • pocketbook
  • bookkeeper
  • bookshop
  • yearbook
  • cookbook
  • scrapbook
  • bookshelf
  • bookish
  • sketchbook
  • codebook
  • storybook
  • sourcebook
Every word from Proto-Indo-European bʰeh₃g- →