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Etymology

The word "book" comes from the Old English "bōc" which derives from the Germanic root for beech tree. It is conjectured that some of the earliest writings in Indo-European languages may have been carved into beech wood. Nearly anything that could be written on, such as stone, clay, tree bark, and metal sheets, was used for writing in ancient civilizations. Clay tablets were commonly used writing mediums, especially for cuneiform script, from the Bronze Age through the Iron Age. They were flattened and mostly dry pieces of clay that could be easily carried and inscribed with a stylus.

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103 views2 pages

Etymology

The word "book" comes from the Old English "bōc" which derives from the Germanic root for beech tree. It is conjectured that some of the earliest writings in Indo-European languages may have been carved into beech wood. Nearly anything that could be written on, such as stone, clay, tree bark, and metal sheets, was used for writing in ancient civilizations. Clay tablets were commonly used writing mediums, especially for cuneiform script, from the Bronze Age through the Iron Age. They were flattened and mostly dry pieces of clay that could be easily carried and inscribed with a stylus.

Uploaded by

Ariel Dela Cueva
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

Etymology

The word book comes from Old English "bc" which (itself) comes from the Germanic root
"*bk-", cognate to beech.[3] Similarly, in Slavic languages (for
example, Russian,Bulgarian, Macedonian) "" (bukva"letter") is cognate with "beech". In
Russian and in Serbian and Macedonian, another Slavic languages, the words "" (bukvar')
and "" (bukvar), respectively, refer specifically to a primary school textbook that helps young
children master the techniques of reading and writing. It is thus conjectured that the earliest IndoEuropean writings may have been carved on beech wood.[4] Similarly, the Latin word codex, meaning
a book in the modern sense (bound and with separate leaves), originally meant "block of wood".

History of books
Main article: History of books

Antiquity

Sumerian language cuneiform scriptclay tablet, 24002200 BC

When writing systems were created in ancient civilizations, nearly everything that could be written
uponstone, clay, tree bark, metal sheetswas used for [Link] study of such inscriptions
forms a major part of history. The study of inscriptions is known as [Link]
writing emerged in Egypt . The Ancient Egyptians would often write on papyrus, a plant grown along
the Nile River. At first the words were not separated from each other (scriptura continua) and there
was no punctuation. Texts were written from right to left, left to right, and even so that alternate lines
read in opposite directions. The technical term for this type of writing is 'boustrophedon,' which
means literally 'ox-turning' for the way a farmer drives an ox to plough his fields. [citation needed]
Tablet
A tablet might be defined as a physically robust writing medium, suitable for casual transport and
writing. See also stylus.

Clay tablets were just what they sound like: flattened and mostly dry pieces of clay that could be
easily carried, and impressed with a ( possible dampened) stylus. They were used as a writing
medium, especially for writing in cuneiform, throughout the Bronze Age and well into the Iron Age.

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