library
[ lahy-brer-ee, -bruh-ree, -bree ]
/ ˈlaɪˌbrɛr i, -brə ri, -bri /
noun, plural li·brar·ies.
Origin of library
1300–50; Middle English
libraire < Middle French
librairie < Medieval Latin
librāria, noun use of feminine of Latin
librārius (adj.) of books, equivalent to
lib(e)r book +
-ārius
-ary
pronunciation note for library
Library, with one
r -sound following close upon another, is particularly vulnerable to the process of dissimilation—the tendency for neighboring like sounds to become unlike, or for one of them to disappear altogether. The pronunciation
[lahy-brer-ee] /ˈlaɪ brɛr i/, therefore, while still the most common, is frequently reduced by educated speakers, both in the U.S. and in England, to the dissimilated
[lahy-buh-ree] /ˈlaɪ bə ri/ or
[lahy-bree] /ˈlaɪ bri/. A third dissimilated form
[lahy-ber-ee] /ˈlaɪ bɛr i/ is more likely to be heard from less educated or very young speakers, and is often criticized. See
colonel,
February,
governor.
OTHER WORDS FROM library
in·ter·li·brar·y, adjectiveWords nearby library
Example sentences from the Web for interlibrary
British Dictionary definitions for interlibrary
library
/ (ˈlaɪbrərɪ) /
noun plural -braries
a room or set of rooms where books and other literary materials are kept
a collection of literary materials, films, CDs, children's toys, etc, kept for borrowing or reference
the building or institution that houses such a collection
a public library
a set of books published as a series, often in a similar format
computing
a collection of standard programs and subroutines for immediate use, usually stored on disk or some other storage device
a collection of specific items for reference or checking against
a library of genetic material
Word Origin for library
C14: from Old French
librairie, from Medieval Latin
librāris, n use of Latin
librārius relating to books, from
liber book