Etymologically
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paperback

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 26 October 2026 at 01:45. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • UK: /ˈpeɪ.pə.bæk/[1]
  • US: /ˈpeɪ.pɚˌbæk/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English paper + back.[2][3][4][5] The OED compares the earlier adjective paperbound.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

A book bound in stiff paper or flexible card: 1843, in the Southern Literary Messenger,[2][6] although Etymonline dates the noun to 1899[3] and Dictionary.com to 1895–1900.[5]

Semantic evolution

The adjective, of a book bound in this way, is recorded from 1884,[2] and since 1921 also in the sense "having the style or character of a paperback".[2] The verb to paperback, to publish in a paperback edition, dates from 1960.[2] The word stands in contrast to hardback.[2][7]

Timeline

  • 1843 – a book with a paper cover.[2][6]
  • 1884 – adjective, of a book, bound in paper covers.[2]
  • 1921 – adjective, in the style of a paperback.[2]
  • 1960 – verb, to publish in paperback.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A book with covers of flexible card or stiff paper, usually sold more cheaply than a hardback, also in the phrase in paperback, in such an edition: The novel came out in paperback a year later.[7][2][6]

Adjective

  1. Bound in flexible covers; of or relating to paperbacks: paperback thrillers.[7][6][2]

Verb

  1. To publish in a paperback edition.[7][2]

Word family

  • trade paperback
  • hardback
  • paperbound
  • softcover

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  6. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  7. ^ a b c d Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins