book

• enPR: bo͝ok, IPA^(key): /bʊk/
• enPR: bo͞ok IPA^(key): /buːk/ (still sometimes northern England; otherwise obsolete)[1]

• Audio (US)

  (file)

  plural

  Audio (US)

  (file)

• Audio (UK)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ʊk

From Middle English booke, book, bok, from Old English bōc, from Proto-Germanic *bōks (“beech, book”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂ǵos (“beech”).

The sense development of beech to book is explained by the fact that smooth gray beech bark was commonly used as bookfell.[2]

A hard-cover book

book (plural books)

1. A collection of sheets of paper bound together to hinge at one edge, containing printed or written material, pictures, etc.
   • 1962, James East Irby translating Luis Borges as "The Library of Babel":

     I repeat: it suffices that a book be possible for it to exist. Only the impossible is excluded. For example: no book can be a ladder, although no doubt there are books which discuss and negate and demonstrate this possibility and others whose structure corresponds to that of a ladder.

   • 1983, Steve Horelick & al., "Reading Rainbow":

     I can be anything.
     Take a look!
     It's in a book:
     A reading rainbow.

   • 1991, Stephen Fry, The Liar, p. 51:

     Trefusis's quarters could be described in one word. Books. Books and books and books. And then, just when an observer might be lured into thinking that that must be it, more books... Trefusis himself was highly dismissive of them. ‘Waste of trees,’ he had once said. ‘Stupid, ugly, clumsy, heavy things. The sooner technology comes up with a reliable alternative the better... The world is so fond of saying that books should be “treated with respect”. But when are we told that words should be treated with respect?’

   She opened the book to page 37 and began to read aloud.

   He was frustrated because he couldn't find anything about dinosaurs in the book.

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.

   I have three copies of his first book.

3. (heraldry) A heraldic representation of such an object, used as a charge; as in the arms of the universities of Oxford and Cambridge.
4. A major division of a long work.

   Genesis is the first book of the Bible.

   Many readers find the first book of A Tale of Two Cities to be confusing.

   Synonyms: tome, volume

5. (gambling) A record of betting (from the use of a notebook to record what each person has bet).

   I'm running a book on who is going to win the race.

6. A convenient collection, in a form resembling a book, of small paper items for individual use.

   a book of stamps

   a book of raffle tickets

   Synonym: booklet

7. (theater) The script of a musical.

   Synonym: libretto

8. (usually in the plural) Records of the accounts of a business.

   Synonyms: account, record

9. A long document stored (as data) that is or will become a book; an e-book.
10. (law) A colloquial reference to a book award, a recognition for receiving the highest grade in a class (traditionally an actual book, but recently more likely a letter or certificate acknowledging the achievement).
11. (whist) Six tricks taken by one side.
12. (poker slang) four of a kind[3]
13. (sports) A document, held by the referee, of the incidents happened in the game.
14. (sports, by extension) A list of all players who have been booked (received a warning) in a game.
    • 2011 March 2, Andy Campbell, “Celtic 1 - 0 Rangers”, in BBC‎:

      Celtic captain Scott Brown joined team-mate Majstorovic in the book and Rangers' John Fleck was also shown a yellow card as an ill-tempered half drew to a close.

15. (cartomancy) The twenty-sixth Lenormand card.

• See Thesaurus:book

• See Thesaurus:book

• Tok Pisin: bok
• Sranan Tongo: buku
• → Chichewa: buku
• → Hawaiian: puke
• → Marshallese: bok
• → Motu: buka
• → Malagasy: boky
• → Shona: bhuku
• → Somali: buugga
• → Sotho: buka (possibly also from Afrikaans boek)
• → Zulu: ibhuku (possibly also from Afrikaans boek)

• incunable
• scroll
• tome
• volume

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

book (third-person singular simple present books, present participle booking, simple past and past participle booked)

1. (transitive) To reserve (something) for future use.

   I want to book a hotel room for tomorrow night

   I can book tickets for the concert next week.

   Synonym: reserve

2. (transitive) To write down, to register or record in a book or as in a book.

   They booked that message from the hill

   Synonyms: make a note of, note down, record, write down

3. (law enforcement, transitive) To record the name and other details of a suspected offender and the offence for later judicial action.

   The police booked him for driving too fast.

4. (sports) To issue with a caution, usually a yellow card, or a red card if a yellow card has already been issued.
5. (intransitive, slang) To travel very fast.

   He was really booking, until he passed the speed trap.

   Synonyms: bomb, hurtle, rocket, speed, shoot, whiz

6. To record bets as bookmaker.
7. (transitive, law student slang) To receive the highest grade in a class.

   The top three students had a bet on which one was going to book their intellectual property class.

8. (intransitive, slang) To leave.

   He was here earlier, but he booked.

See the etymology of the main entry. From Middle English book, bok, from Old English bōc, from Proto-Germanic *bōk, first and third person singular indicative past tense of Proto-Germanic *bakaną (“to bake”).

book

1. (Britain dialectal, Northern England) simple past tense of bake

• Boko, Koob, boko, bòkò, kobo

From Middle Dutch boec, from Old Dutch buok, from Proto-Germanic *bōks.

• IPA^(key): /boːk/

book n (plural beuk)

1. book

From Old English bōc.

book (plural books)

1. Alternative form of booke

From Old English būc.

book (plural books)

1. Alternative form of bouk