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Etymology and origin of the English word textbook

Confidence
Established
Formation
Compound
First attested
1726, A. Bayne, Discourse on the Rise and Progress of the Law of Scotland
Ultimate origins
Old French texteOld English bōc
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
English text
English textbook

Pronunciation

  • /ˈtɛkst.bʊk/[1]

Etymology

It was formed from English text + book in English,[2][3][4][5] from text in the sense of an authoritative writing.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

A book used as a standard work in studying a subject: 1726, in Alexander Bayne's Discourse on Scots law, in the revised OED;[2][6] Etymonline and Merriam-Webster date this sense to 1779.[3][7] Dictionary.com dates the word to 1720–30.[5]

Semantic evolution

In the 18th century the word also meant a student's copy of a classical text, printed with wide spaces between the lines for the master's comments to be written in: Etymonline dates it to 1730 and the OED to 1728, in Chambers's Cyclopædia.[3][2][4] From 1833 a textbook could also be a selection of passages of Scripture arranged for daily reading or reference;[2][3] it was used rarely from 1862 for the printed words of an opera or play.[2] The attributive use, "typical, exemplary", as in a textbook case, is recorded from 1860 in the OED, at first often disparaging;[2] Merriam-Webster dates it to 1905 and Etymonline to 1916.[7][3]

Timeline

  • 1726 – a standard book for the study of a subject.[2]
  • 1728 – (obsolete) a student's interleaved copy of a classical text.[2]
  • 1833 – a book of selected Bible passages.[2]
  • 1860 – adjective, typical, exemplary.[2]
  • 1862 – the words of an opera or play.[2]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A book that sets out the principles of a subject in a systematic way, used in studying it, especially in schools and colleges: a chemistry textbook.
  2. (historical) A book of selected passages of the Bible, arranged for daily reading or reference.

Adjective

  1. Being a perfect or typical example of its kind; classic: The rescue was a textbook operation.

Word family

  • textbookish

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 f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b 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. ^ Kay, Christian; Roberts, Jane; Samuels, Michael; Wotherspoon, Irené, eds. (2009), Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford: Oxford University Press; online edition (2024)
  7. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
Cite this entry

“Textbook.” Etymologically, 22 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/textbook. Accessed 23 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·