LIBRARY
/ˈlaɪˌbɹɛɹ.i/Accepted in official NYT Spelling Bee puzzle years: 2025
Meaning
An institution which holds books and/or other forms of media for use by the public or qualified people often lending them out, as well as providing various other services for its users.
Etymology
Origin: Old English
From Middle English librarie, from Anglo-Norman librarie, from Old French librairie, from Latin librarium (“bookcase, chest for books”), from librarius (“concerning books”), from liber (“the inner bark of trees; paper, parchment, book”), probably derived from a Proto-Indo-European base *leub(ʰ)- (“to strip, to peel”). Displaced native Middle English bochous, bokhus (literally “book house”), from Old English bōchūs (compare bookhouse). Romance cognates often mean “bookshop” instead: French librairie, Italian libreria, Spanish librería, Romanian librărie and Portuguese livraria. This is a relatively recent innovation (16th century in French), which ended up displacing the earlier sense.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms
NYT Puzzle Appearances
Accepted in 1 recorded puzzle: