Bible
/ˈbʌɪb(ə)l
/noun
1 (the Bible) The Christian scriptures, consisting of the Old and New Testaments: [as modifier]: Bible stories Bible study
1.1 (the Bible) The Jewish scriptures, consisting of the Torah or Law, the Prophets, and the Hagiographa or Writings.
1.2 (also bible) A copy of the Christian or Jewish scriptures.A court usher held a copy of the bible to her right hand for the woman to take the oath....
- You won't find the Apocrypha in most bibles, as for Christians of the Reformation it is not regarded as Scripture.
- It shows an African man from the waist up, holding a bible, with his arms extended and raised.
1.3A particular edition or translation of the Bible: the New English Bible
Synonyms
the (Holy) Scriptures, Holy Writ, the Good Book, the Book of Books;
New English Bible, King James Bible, Authorized Version, Revised Version, Good News Bible, Jerusalem Bible, Geneva Bible;
Gideon Bible
1.4 (bible) informal A book regarded as authoritative in a particular sphere: a brand-new edition of this filmgoers' bible...
- This is the bible of pregnancy books, answering virtually every question you could ever think of. A great resource.
- But I was also obsessed with the possibility of the future turning out to be horrible - so I carried around 1984, Farenheit 451 and Brave New World like they were my Bibles.
- The Les Routiers guide - one of the few bibles of the catering and accommodation world - contains 600 entries, covering hotels, restaurants, inns, B and Bs and cafes.
Synonyms
handbook, manual, ABC, companion, guide, primer, essential book, authoritative book;
Latin vade mecum
rare enchiridion
Origin
Middle English: via Old French from ecclesiastical Latin biblia, from Greek (ta) biblia '(the) books', from biblion 'book', originally a diminutive of biblos 'papyrus, scroll', of Semitic origin.
Bible has come via Old French from ecclesiastical Latin biblia, from Greek (ta) biblia ‘(the) books’. The singular biblion was originally a diminutive of biblos ‘papyrus, scroll’, of Semitic origin. There is a link with the Eastern Mediterranean port of Byblos, which was a major exporter of papyrus to Greece. Words like bibliography (early 19th century) come from the same source.