Etymograph

English

bible

Bible comes from Old French bible, from Medieval Latin biblia (Latin neuter plural ‘books’ misread as feminine singular), from Ancient Greek βιβλίον ‘small book’.

  1. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEβύβλος1búblos‘papyrus’
  2. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEβίβλος1bíblos‘book’
  3. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEβιβλίον1biblíon‘small book’
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEβιβλία1biblía‘books’plural of βιβλίον
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEbiblia1‘books’
  6. Medieval Latinc. 600–1500biblia1‘the Bible’
  7. Old Frenchc. 842–1400bible2
  8. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500bible1‘the Bible; a large book’
  9. Englishearliest quotation 1828bible1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English bible
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Middle English bible
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1828, Thomas Keightley, The Fairy Mythology: “If a person should happen to meet them when…”.

Lineage

  1. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEβύβλοςWiktionary, English biblebúblos‘papyrus’
  2. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEβίβλοςWiktionary, English biblebíblos‘book’
  3. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEβιβλίονWiktionary, English biblebiblíon‘small book’
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEβιβλίαWiktionary, English biblebiblía‘books’plural of βιβλίον
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEbibliaWiktionary, English bible‘books’
  6. Medieval Latinc. 600–1500bibliaWiktionary, English bible‘the Bible’
  7. Old Frenchc. 842–1400bibleWiktionary, Middle English bible
  8. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500bibleWiktionary, English bible‘the Bible; a large book’
  9. Englishearliest quotation 1828bibleWiktionary, English bible. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1828, Thomas Keightley, The Fairy Mythology: “If a person should happen to meet them when…”

The story

From Middle English bible, from Middle Latin biblia (‘book’) (misinterpreted as a feminine from earlier Latin neuter plural biblia (‘books’)), from Ancient Greek βιβλία (biblía, “books”), plural of βιβλίον (biblíon, “small book”), originally a diminutive of βίβλος (bíblos, “book”), from βύβλος (búblos, “papyrus”) (from the ancient Phoenician city of Byblos which exported this writing material). Old English used biblioþēce (from βιβλιοθήκη) and ġewritu (> English writs) for "the Scriptures".

Full etymology on Wiktionary

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Today it means

name A comprehensive manual that describes something, or a publication with a loyal readership; a foundational text.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “bible”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Middle English bible. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Ancient Greek βύβλος / bible