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cookbook

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Etymology and origin of the English word cookbook

Confidence
Established
Formation
Compound
First attested
1809 R. Tyler, “Yankey in London”
Ultimate origins
Latin *cocusProto-Germanic *bōk
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
English cook
English cookbook
From the same root
English cooker ← cook

Pronunciation

  • /ˈkʊkˌbʊk/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English cook + book in American English,[2][3][4] perhaps after a compound in another Germanic language: the OED compares Dutch kookboek (1560), German Kochbuch (16th century) and Swedish kokbok (1650),[2] and Merriam-Webster suggests a translation of the German or the Dutch word.[5][6] The OED takes the first element as the verb cook, Etymonline as the noun.[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

A book of recipes and other information on preparing and cooking food: 1809, in R. Tyler's “Yankey in London”.[2][3][5] Dictionary.com marks the word as an Americanism.[4]

Semantic evolution

The earlier word was cookery book, recorded from 1639 in the OED;[2] Etymonline dates it to the 1630s.[3] From 1921 cookbook was also used of any book or document giving clear and detailed instructions on a subject.[2][7] From 1944 it was used as an adjective for an approach that follows set steps, usually without explaining why they work.[5][7] In American computing slang a cookbook is a collection of code segments that can be used to improve programs.[8]

Timeline

  • 1809 – a book of recipes and cooking instructions.[2][3][5]
  • 1921 – a book of detailed instructions on any subject.[2]
  • 1944 – adjective, following step-by-step procedures.[5][7]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A book of recipes and directions for cooking: He learned to bake bread from an old cookbook.[5][2][4]
  2. A book of detailed, step-by-step instructions on any subject.[5][7][2]
  3. (computing slang, US) A collection of code segments for improving programs.[8]

Adjective

  1. Following step-by-step procedures whose reasons are usually not explained: cookbook chemistry experiments.[5][7]

Usage notes

British English has long preferred cookery book.[4][2]

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k 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 c d Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ Gove, Philip Babcock, ed. (1961), Webster's Third New International Dictionary of the English Language, Unabridged, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam
  7. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  8. ^ a b Dalzell, Tom; Victor, Terry, eds. (2013), The New Partridge Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English, 2nd ed., London: Routledge
Cite this entry

“Cookbook.” Etymologically, 31 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/cookbook. Accessed 1 Nov. 2026.

Last edited on . ·