book word
"Book words" are often found in written texts but are rarely used in everyday conversation, making them unique in how they are learned and pronounced.
Definition
C1Linguistics
(technical, academic)A word that is usually seen in written texts and not commonly used in spoken language.
Example
- The term 'antediluvian' is a book word; many people have read it but never used it in conversation.
- Book words can sometimes be tricky to pronounce because we encounter them more in writing than in speech.
C2Linguistics
(technical, academic)A word borrowed from a related literary language, sharing roots with native words but not undergoing regular sound changes.
Example
- In some dialects, certain book words are borrowed from classical languages and retain their original form.
- The word 'cathedral' can be considered a book word in some vernaculars, originating from Latin but not following typical sound change patterns.
Similar
Terms that have similar or relatively close meanings to "book word":
book formbook worldbook dealbook tradebook inbook of wordspaper bookmake bookbook dumpingmag bookbook stampopening bookbook upbook mitereading bookfake bookform bookservice bookbook muslinreference bookback of the bookblue bookrecord bookpattern booktalk like a bookgood wordword timerough bookaddress bookbook of the filmred book