bible

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. Alternative letter-case form of Bible (“a specific version, edition, translation, or copy of the Christian religious text”).
  2. Alternative letter-case form of Bible (“the analogous holy book of another religion”).
  3. A comprehensive manual that describes something, or a publication with a loyal readership; a foundational text.
  4. Ellipsis of pitch bible.
  5. A binder containing copies of the most important documents for a particular matter.
  6. Synonym of holystone: a piece of sandstone used for scouring wooden decks on ships.
  7. A compilation of problems and solutions from previous years of a given course, used by some students to cheat on tests or assignments.
  8. Omasum, the third compartment of the stomach of ruminants
  9. The upper part of a pin-tumbler lock, containing the driver pins and springs.
name
  1. Either of two major versions of the main religious text in the Judeo-Christian group of traditions.
  2. The main religious text in Christianity.
  3. The Jewish holy book that was largely incorporated into the Christian Bible.
  4. The analogous holy book of another religion or belief system.
  5. The principal important document of some area of skill or expertise.
noun
  1. A specific version, edition, translation, or copy of one of the above-mentioned texts.
name
  1. A surname originating as a matronymic.

Pronunciation

/ˈbaɪbəl/ en-us-bible.ogg LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-Bible.wav

Word forms

bible bibles the Bible

Etymology

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".

This entry uses open data from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA/GFDL). Word forms are used for search and are not indexed as separate pages.