Expert: Maria - 1/15/2008

Question
HI, how do you say "library" in latin? or "Book store" or something of the sort..thank you so much!!!

Answer
Hello,

the English noun “library”, which derives from Latin “liber” (book) and “librarium”( bookcase), translates as  “bibliotheca”, that is “a  place established to contain books, manuscripts, and other material for reading and  study”.

As for ‘bookstore’/‘bookshop’, it is just “libraria” or “taberna libraria”, that is “a store where books are sold”.

Have a nice day,
Maria
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-BIBLIOTHECA(nominative case feminine, 1st.declension)= library.

-LIBER (nominative masculine, 2nd.declension)= book.

-LIBRARIUM (nominative neuter, 2nd.declension ) = bookcase, i.e. 'A piece of furniture with shelves for holding books'.

-LIBRARIA or TABERNA LIBRARIA(nominative case, 1st.declension) = ‘bookstore’/ ‘bookshop’

Note that Latin has five declensions with six cases (nominative, genitive, dative, accusative, vocative, ablative).