Where does “bookstore” come from?
Bookstore comes from English book and store, with book tracing back through Middle English booke and Old English bōc to Proto-Indo-European roots related to beech trees used for writing surfaces.
bookstore (English): A store where books are bought and sold
Definitions
- A store where books are bought and sold
Ancestry of “bookstore”, step by step
bookstore traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English Book
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Book | the Bible |
| 2 | German | būch | book collection of sheets of paper bound together to hinge at one edge; long work fit for publication |
| 3 | Middle High German | buoch | — |
| 4 | Old High German | buoh | book |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | bōk | — |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | bakaną | to bake |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰeh₃g- | to bake, to roast, to fry |
via English store
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | store | A place where items may be accumulated or... |
| 2 | Middle English | store | supplies, provisions; livestock, farm animals;... |
| 3 | Old French | estor | battle; combat |
| 4 | Frankish | sturm | storm, commotion, battle; storm |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | sturmaz | storm |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | (s)twer- | to rotate, swirl, twirl, move around; to turn... |