Etymologically
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booklet

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Pronunciation

  • /ˈbʊk.lət/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English book + -let, with the diminutive suffix.[2][3][4] Book is from Old English bōc (“book, writing, written document”).[3] The suffix comes from Old French -elet, which is often a double diminutive.[3] The OED compares the earlier bookling.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

A small book: 1859, in the Saturday Review.[2][3] Merriam-Webster gives 1856 as the first known use,[5] and Dictionary.com dates it to 1855–60.[4]

Semantic evolution

In later use the word came to mean especially a small, thin book with paper covers giving information on one subject.[2][6] From 1900 a booklet was also a packet of postage stamps bound between paper or card covers like a small book.[2][5]

Timeline

  • 1856 – first known use, according to Merriam-Webster.[5]
  • 1859 – a small book.[2][3]
  • 1900 – a stamp booklet.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A small, thin book, usually with paper covers; a pamphlet: a booklet on growing tomatoes.[6][5][2]
  2. A small book of postage stamps bound between paper or card covers.[5][2]

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e 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 e Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins