Editing Book (section)

== Etymology ==
The word ''book'' comes from the [[Old English]] {{lang|ang|bōc}}, which in turn likely comes from the [[Germanic languages|Germanic]] root {{lang|gem-x-proto|*bōk-}}, [[cognate]] to "[[beech]]".<ref>{{Cite web |title=book {{!}} Etymology, origin and meaning of book |url=https://www.etymonline.com/word/book |access-date=2023-03-21 |website=Online Etymology Dictionary |language=en |archive-date=June 27, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170627174353/http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=book |url-status=live }}</ref> In [[Slavic languages]] like [[Russian language|Russian]], [[Bulgarian language|Bulgarian]], [[Macedonian language|Macedonian]] {{lang|ru|буква}} {{lang|ru-Latn|bukva}}—"letter"  is cognate with "beech". In [[Russian language|Russian]], [[Serbian language|Serbian]] and [[Macedonian language|Macedonian]], the word {{lang|ru|букварь}} ({{lang|ru-Latn|bukvar'}}) or {{lang|sr-Cyrl|буквар}} ({{lang|sr-Latn|bukvar}}) refers to a primary school textbook that helps young children master the techniques of reading and writing. It is thus conjectured that the earliest [[Indo-European languages|Indo-European]] writings may have been carved on beech wood.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.northvegr.org/holy/b.php |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081103044850/http://www.northvegr.org/holy/b.php |url-status=dead |archive-date=November 3, 2008 |title=Northvegr – Holy Language Lexicon |date=November 3, 2008 |access-date=December 30, 2016 }}</ref> The Latin word {{lang|la|codex}}, meaning a book in the modern sense (bound and with separate leaves), originally meant "block of wood".<ref>{{Cite web |title=codex |url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803095621448 |access-date=2022-05-09 |website=Oxford Reference |language=en |archive-date=May 9, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220509210027/https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803095621448 |url-status=live }}</ref>

An avid reader or collector of books is a bibliophile, or colloquially a "[[bookworm]]".<ref>{{cite dictionary |dictionary=Merriam Webster |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bibliophile |entry=Bibliophile |date=4 March 2025 |title=Thesaurus results for BIBLIOPHILE }}</ref>