βιβλιογραφία

Forms

βῐβλῐογρᾰφῐ́ᾱ (bibliographíā) f (genitive βῐβλῐογρᾰφῐ́ᾱς); first declension^[1]

Etymology

It is a compound, from Ancient Greek βιβλίον (biblíon) + -γραφία (-graphíā) “book” + “writing”, or a derivative of βιβλιογράφος (bibliográphos) “copyist of books”.^[1][2] βιβλίον (biblíon) is a diminutive of βύβλος (búblos) “papyrus”; that name was supposedly taken from the Phoenician port of Byblos, but E. Masson held its origin to be unknown.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in Dioscorides (1st century AD), meaning the writing or copying of books.^[4][5][6]

Semantic evolution

Diogenes Laertius uses it in the same sense, and the word stays rare in ancient Greek.^[4][7][5]

English bibliography meant “the writing of books” in the 1670s, the study of books from 1803, and a list of books on a subject from 1814.^[8] Modern Greek βιβλιογραφία (vivliografía) is a learned borrowing of French bibliographie, distinct from the Hellenistic word.^[9]

Timeline

• 1st century AD – Dioscorides uses it for the writing of books.^[4]
• 3rd century AD – Diogenes Laertius uses it in the same sense.^[4][7]
• 1670s – English bibliography is recorded for the writing of books.^[8]
• 1814 – The English word is first used for a list of books on a subject.^[8]
• Modern Greek – βιβλιογραφία (vivliografía) is a learned borrowing from French.^[9]

Meanings

Noun

1. The writing or copying of books.^[4][6][7]

Related words

• βιβλίον (biblíon)
• βιβλιογράφος (bibliográphos)
• βύβλος (búblos)
• English bibliography

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ Bailly, Anatole (2020), Dictionnaire grec-français, Bailly 2020 Hugo Chávez ed., ed. Gérard Gréco et al.
3. ^ Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010), Etymological Dictionary of Greek, with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 10, Leiden; Boston: Brill
4. ^ a b c d e Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge
5. ^ a b Keersmaekers, Alek (2021–2025), GLAUx: The Greek Language Automated corpus, https://github.com/alekkeersmaekers/glaux
6. ^ a b Korinthios, J. (2025), Grande Dizionario Greco Classico: Greco–Italiano, digital ed., Milan: Hoepli
7. ^ a b c Pape, Wilhelm (1914), Griechisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 3rd ed., rev. Max Sengebusch, Braunschweig: Vieweg
8. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
9. ^ a b Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών (Ίδρυμα Μανόλη Τριανταφυλλίδη) (1998), Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής, Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki