βιβλιοθήκη

Ancient Greek

Etymology

From βιβλίον (biblíon, “book”) +‎ -θήκη (-thḗkē, “box, chest”).

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /bi.bli.o.tʰɛ̌ː.kɛː/ → /βi.βli.oˈθi.ci/ → /vi.vli.oˈθi.ci/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /bi.bli.o.tʰɛ̌ː.kɛː/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /bi.bli.oˈtʰe̝.ke̝/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /βi.βli.oˈθi.ci/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /vi.vli.oˈθi.ci/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /vi.vli.oˈθi.ci/

Noun

βῐβλῐοθήκη • (bibliothḗkē) f (genitive βῐβλῐοθήκης); first declension

1. bookcase
2. library
3. records office
4. compilation

Inflection

First declension of ἡ βῐβλῐοθήκη; τῆς βῐβλῐοθήκης (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ἡ βῐβλῐοθήκη hē bibliothḗkē	τὼ βῐβλῐοθήκᾱ tṑ bibliothḗkā	αἱ βῐβλῐοθῆκαι hai bibliothêkai
Genitive	τῆς βῐβλῐοθήκης tês bibliothḗkēs	τοῖν βῐβλῐοθήκαιν toîn bibliothḗkain	τῶν βῐβλῐοθηκῶν tôn bibliothēkôn
Dative	τῇ βῐβλῐοθήκῃ têi bibliothḗkēi	τοῖν βῐβλῐοθήκαιν toîn bibliothḗkain	ταῖς βῐβλῐοθήκαις taîs bibliothḗkais
Accusative	τὴν βῐβλῐοθήκην tḕn bibliothḗkēn	τὼ βῐβλῐοθήκᾱ tṑ bibliothḗkā	τᾱ̀ς βῐβλῐοθήκᾱς tā̀s bibliothḗkās
Vocative	βῐβλῐοθήκη bibliothḗkē	βῐβλῐοθήκᾱ bibliothḗkā	βῐβλῐοθῆκαι bibliothêkai
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Descendants

• Greek: βιβλιοθήκη (vivliothíki)
• → Coptic: ⲃⲟⲩⲗⲓⲁⲑⲏⲕⲏ (bouliathēkē)
• → Georgian: ბიბლიოთეკა (biblioteḳa)
• → Latin: bibliothēca, bibliothēcē, bybliothēca, bybliothēcē (see there for further descendants)
• → Russian: вивлио́фика (vivliófika) (obsolete)

Further reading

• “βιβλιοθήκη”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• βιβλιοθήκη in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
• βιβλιοθήκη in the Diccionario Griego–Español en línea (2006–2024)
• “βιβλιοθήκη”, in ΛΟΓΕΙΟΝ [Logeion] (in English, French, Spanish, German, Dutch and Chinese), University of Chicago, 2011

Greek

Etymology

From Ancient Greek βιβλιοθήκη (bibliothḗkē). Morphologically, from βιβλί(ο) (“book”) +‎ -ο- +‎ -θήκη (“case, holster”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /vivlioˈθici/
• Hyphenation: βι‧βλι‧ο‧θή‧κη

Noun

βιβλιοθήκη • (vivliothíki) f (plural βιβλιοθήκες)

1. library
2. bookcase

Declension

Declension of βιβλιοθήκη

	singular	plural
nominative	βιβλιοθήκη •	βιβλιοθήκες •
genitive	βιβλιοθήκης •	βιβλιοθηκών •
accusative	βιβλιοθήκη •	βιβλιοθήκες •
vocative	βιβλιοθήκη •	βιβλιοθήκες •

Further reading

• “βιβλιοθήκη”, in Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής [Dictionary of Standard Modern Greek], Triantafyllidis Foundation, 1998