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Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary li·brary \\ˈlī-ˌbrer-ē, -ˌbre-rē; Britain usually & US sometimes -brər-ē; US sometimes -brē, ÷-ˌber-ē, -ˌbe-rē\\ noun (plural -brar·ies) ETYMOLOGY Middle English, from Anglo-French librarie,Medieval Latin librarium, from Latin, neuter of librarius of books, from libr-, liber inner bark, rind, book DATE 14th century 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 a library of computer programs wine library 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 Usage. While the pronunciation \\ˈlī-ˌbrer-ē\\ is the most frequent variant in the U.S., 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. English Etymology library late 14c., from Anglo-Fr. librarie, from O.Fr
http://O.Fr . librairie "collection of books," noun use of adj. librarius "concerning books," from L.librarium "chest for books," from liber (gen. libri) "book, paper, parchment," originally "the inner bark of trees," probably a derivative of PIE base *leub(h)- "to strip, to peel" (see leaf). The equivalent word in most Romance languages now means "bookseller's shop." O.E. had bochord, lit. "book hord." Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary-牛津双解-OALD7 ☞ library li·brary / 5laibrEri; 5laibri; NAmE -breri / noun(pl. -ies) 1. a building in which collections of books, CDs, newspapers, etc. are kept for people to read, study or borrow 图书馆；藏书楼: a public / reference / university, etc. library 公共图书馆、参考书阅览室、大学图书馆等 a library book 图书馆藏书 a toy library (= for borrowing toys from) 玩具图书馆 2. a room in a large house where most of the books are kept 图书室；资料室 3. (formal) a personal collection of books, CDs, etc. (书、激光唱片等的)个人收藏: a new edition to add to your library 可收藏的新版本 4. a series of books, recordings, etc. produced by the same company and similar in appearance 系列丛书(或磁带等)；文库: a library of children's classics 儿童文学名着系列丛书 Oxford Collocations Dictionary for Students of English Oxford Collocations dictionary for students of English
library noun 1 building
ADJ. large, small | excellent, good | public | private | branch, county, local, national, regional | mobile A number of councils operate mobile libraries. | well-stocked | circulating (historical), lending, subscription In 1784 he established his first circulating library. | reference | general | special, specialist | academic, research | college, departmental, school, university | copyright It is a copyright library and receives three copies of all books published in Britain.
VERB + LIBRARY have The school has an excellent library. | go to, use, visit How often do you go to the library? | borrow sth from, get/take sth out of I got this very interesting book out of the library. | return sth to, take sth back to Do you have any books to take back to the library? | be available at/from Do you know about the other services available at your local library? | have access to Everyone in the country should have access to a lending library.
LIBRARY + VERB have sth, hold sth The library has an extensive collection of books on French history.
LIBRARY + NOUN book | shelf | catalogue | ticket | assistant, staff | user | facilities, provision, resources, service the need to improve library provision | skills teaching library skills to schoolchildren
PREP. at a/the ~ a holiday programme for children at the local library | in a/the ~ I've been reading newspapers in the library.
2 collection of books, etc.
ADJ. considerable, extensive | fine, impressive, magnificent, valuable | personal | film, music, photographic, picture, video
VERB + LIBRARY have, possess The family possessed an extensive library. | amass, build (up) She had built up an impressive library of art books. | add to
PREP. ~ of a personal library of over 1,000 volumes
Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Thesaurus-11th Edition n. Function: noun
a place in which literary, musical, artistic, or reference materials (as books or films) are kept for use but not for sale FF1C;planned to study all evening in the libraryFF1E; Synonyms: archive(s), athenaeum Related Words: reading room Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged li·brary I. \ˈlīˌbrerē, -_b(r)ərē, -_brē, -ri also ÷-ˌber- sometimes -ˌbər.ē or -ˌbər.i\ noun (-es) Usage: often attributive Etymology: Middle English librarie, from Medieval Latin librarium & libraria, from neuter & feminine respectively of Latin librarius of books, from libr-, liber book + -arius -ary — more at leaf 1. a. : a room, a section or series of sections of a building, or a building itself given over to books, manuscripts, musical scores, or other literary and sometimes artistic materials (as paintings or musical recordings) usually kept in some convenient order for use but not for sale < the house contained a library besides the living, dining, and kitchen areas > < a college library > — see public library b. (1) : a collection of books, manuscripts, or other literary materials kept (as in a library) for study or reading or a collection of paintings, musical scores, musical recordings, photographs, maps, or films kept for convenient use, study, or enjoyment < a library of early American travel books > < a library of Bach recordings > < a private library of manuscript plays > (2) : an institution for the custody or administration of such a collection < the Library of Congress > (3) : a collection suggesting a library (as a reference library) < the most complete library of illustrations available in book form — advt > < a library of color chips — American Fabrics > c. : rental library d. < the goal of going through the entire Shakespeare library — Lewis Funke > (2) : a series of books of some similarity issued by a publisher < a Hawthorne library > (3) : a series of reference materials bearing on the same matter (as programs, routines, and subroutines in digital computing) f. : something suggesting a library especially in being a receptacle of wide or miscellaneous information < men and women … who are oral libraries for neighborhood history and gossip — American Guide Series: Tennessee > 2. Britain : a business established to conduct transactions for others : agency ; especially : a theater ticket agency II. noun : a collection of cloned DNA fragments that are maintained in a suitable cellular environment and that often represent the genetic material of a particular organism or tissue |