library
li·brary
noun\ˈlī-ˌbrer-ē, -ˌbre-rē; British usually & US sometimes -brər-ē; US sometimes -brē, ÷-ˌber-ē, -ˌbe-rē\
plural li·brar·ies
Definition of LIBRARY
1
a : a place in which literary, musical, artistic, or reference materials (as books, manuscripts, recordings, or films) are kept for use but not for sale b : a collection of such materials
2
a : a collection resembling or suggesting a library b : morgue 2
3
a : a series of related books issued by a publisher b : a collection of publications on the same subject
4
: a collection of cloned DNA fragments that are maintained in a suitable cellular environment and that usually represent the genetic material of a particular organism or tissue
See Usage Discussion of LIBRARY
While the pronunciation \ˈlī-ˌbrer-ē\ is the most frequent variant in the United States, the other variants are not uncommon. The contraction \ˈlī-brē\ and the dissimilated form \ˈlī-ˌber-ē\ result from the relative difficulty of repeating \r\ in the same syllable or successive syllables; our files contain citations for these variants from educated speakers, including college presidents and professors, as well as with somewhat greater frequency from less educated speakers.
Examples of LIBRARY
- I borrowed the book from the school library.
- He has an impressive library of jazz records.
- a library of computer programs
Origin of LIBRARY
Middle English, from Anglo-French librarie, Medieval Latin librarium, from Latin, neuter of librarius of books, from libr-, liber inner bark, rind, book
First Known Use: 14th century
Rhymes with LIBRARY
baneberry, barberry, bayberry, bearberry, bilberry, blackberry, black cherry, blaeberry, blueberry, Bradbury, bunchberry, Burberry, canary, chokeberry, chokecherry, cloudberry, contrary, costmary, cowberry, cranberry, crowberry, deerberry, equerry, gooseberry, ground-cherry, hackberry, Hail Mary, inkberry, Juneberry, knobkerrie, mulberry, nondairy, pokeberry, primary, raspberry, rosemary, scalare, shadberry, snowberry, soapberry, strawberry, summary, sweet cherry, teaberry, tilbury, tooth fairy, twinberry, unwary, vagary, wheat berry, wolfberry, youngberry
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