bookcase

Etymology

It is a compound, formed from English book + case (“box, container”).^[2][3][4] The first element is from Old English bōc (“book, writing, written document”),^[3] and the second is from Anglo-Norman casse,^[3] from Latin capsa (“box, repository”), which was used especially for books.^[3] Old English had its own word for a holder of books, bōcfōdder.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

A cabinet or cupboard with shelves for books, in early use especially one closed by doors, glazed or not: 1698, in M. Lister's Journey to Paris.^[2][5] Etymonline has 1726, also as book-case,^[3] and Dictionary.com 1720–30.^[4]

Semantic evolution

The word has kept its meaning, with a shift in emphasis: the OED's early records point to an enclosed cabinet with doors,^[2] while the modern dictionaries define it by its shelves, Collins adding that it often has glass doors.^[6][5] In bookbinding of the 1880s the word was also used of a protective case of boards and spine, made separately and then attached to the book, a use the OED marks as obsolete.^[2]

Timeline

• 1698 – a cabinet or cupboard with shelves for books.^[2][5]
• 1885 – bookbinding: a separately made protective case of boards and spine (now obsolete).^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. A piece of furniture with shelves for storing books, sometimes with glass doors: They built a tall oak bookcase beside the fireplace.^[6][5][2]

Related words

• book
• case

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
5. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins