bibliothèque

Forms

bibliothèque f (plural bibliothèques)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin bibliothēca (“room where books are kept, bookcase”), which in Medieval Latin above all meant a collection of books and in Late Latin also the Holy Scriptures.^[2][3][4][1] The Latin word is from Ancient Greek βιβλιοθήκη (bibliothḗkē, “case for a book, book store”), formed from βιβλίον (biblíon, “book”) and θήκη (thḗkē, “chest, box, place of deposit”), from the root of τίθημι (títhēmi, “to put, place”).^[2][3][5][6] The FEW treats it under the Latin word.^[7]

Before the word came in, French said librairie for a collection of books, as in the phrase for the library of King Charles V.^[5] Picoche notes that the ending was later taken from it as the suffix -thèque, seen in discothèque.^[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first recorded in 1493, in the sense “collection of books”, which seems to be the first in French.^[2][3][6]

Semantic evolution

From “collection of books” the word came to name a compilation of works of the same kind (recorded by Furetière in 1690), the starting point of the publisher's sense “series of books of a common character”.^[2] In the 16th century it also meant a register of notices on writers, and in 1627 a book listing the catalogues of libraries, senses later taken over by catalogue and bibliographie.^[2] Bibliothèque vivante (1647) was said of a scholar with a vast memory.^[2]

The spatial senses came later: a cupboard holding books at the end of the 16th century, and only in the 17th century the building or room with many books (recorded 1690),^[2][3] the sense of the Bibliothèque royale, later impériale and nationale.^[2]

Timeline

• 1493 – First recorded, for a collection of books.^[2][3]
• 16th century – A register of notices on writers, in La Croix du Maine and Du Verdier.^[2]
• late 16th century – A bookcase.^[2]
• 1647 – Bibliothèque vivante “walking encyclopedia”.^[2]
• 1690 – Furetière records the senses “room or building with books” and “compilation of works”.^[2][3]

Meanings

Noun

1. A bookcase, a piece of furniture or set of shelves for storing books.^[4][5]
2. A library, a room or building where books are kept to be consulted or borrowed: bibliothèque municipale, bibliothèque universitaire.^[4][9]
3. A collection of books.^[5][2]
4. A series of works published by one publisher with a common character.^[2]
5. Bibliothèque de gare: a station bookstall.^[6]

Word family

• bibliothéconomie
• rat de bibliothèque

Related words

• bibliothécaire
• bible
• discothèque
• thèse
• hypothèque
• Latin bibliothēca

Usage notes

Rat de bibliothèque is a bookworm, a person who spends his time among books.^[1] La Bibliothèque nationale in Paris is familiarly called la Nationale or la B. N..^[4]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
3. ^ a b c d e f Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ a b c d Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
6. ^ a b c Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
7. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 1, 352b
8. ^ Picoche, Jacqueline (1991), Dictionnaire étymologique du français, Paris: Le Robert (Les Usuels du Robert)
9. ^ Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard