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Exact historical dictionary sense

Library in Webster's 1913 dictionary

The 1913 record labels library as noun. Its source-bounded etymology and selected historical definition appear below.

WEBSTER 1913noun
Library

[OE. librairie, F. librairie bookseller's shop, book trade, formerly, a library, fr. libraire bookseller, L. librarius, from liber book; cf. libraria bookseller's shop, librarium bookcase, It. libreria. See Libel.]

Cross-verified historical sense
The source text may be outdated. The page preserves that historical boundary.
Cross-verified 1913 record
Headwordlibrary
Part of speechnoun
Historical etymology[OE. librairie, F. librairie bookseller's shop, book trade, formerly, a library, fr. libraire bookseller, L. librarius, from liber book; cf. libraria bookseller's shop, librarium bookcase, It. libreria. See Libel.]
Selected historical definitionA considerable collection of books kept for use, and not as merchandise; as, a private library; a public library.
Signed record IDwebster1913-library-noun-c4764c6309e8
Source locatorCIDE.L, paragraph 3689; Gutenberg eBook 664
Edition-scoped answerNot earliest-attestation proofNot modern consensus
Independent historical textProject Gutenberg section 664Signed structural record sourceGNU GCIDE 0.54 archive
Quick answer

In Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), "library" is labeled noun. Its etymology is recorded as: "[OE. librairie, F. librairie bookseller's shop, book trade, formerly, a library, fr. libraire bookseller, L. librarius, from liber book; cf. libraria bookseller's shop, librarium bookcase, It. libreria. See Libel.]" The selected historical definition says: "A considerable collection of books kept for use, and not as merchandise; as, a private library; a public library."

Project Gutenberg Webster 1913 plus signed GNU GCIDE 0.54 Exact cross-verified historical record reviewed 2026-10-04

What this answer proves

One named sense in one historical dictionary edition.

The answer reports the selected headword, part of speech, etymology, definition, and source locator as transcribed in the cross-verified 1913 record.

Evidence boundaryIt does not establish the earliest attestation or a complete borrowing chain.It does not claim current scholarly consensus or a modern dictionary definition.Historical dictionary text may be obsolete, incomplete, inaccurate, or offensive by modern standards.

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adjective

Last

[OE. last, latst, contr. of latest, superl. of late; akin to OS. lezt, lazt, last, D. laatst, G. letzt. See Late, and cf. Latest.]

Webster 1913 exact recordadjective

Live

[Abbreviated from alive. See Alive, Life.]

Webster 1913 exact recordadjective

Local

[L. localis, fr. locus place: cf. F. local. See Lieu, Locus.]

Webster 1913 exact recordadjective

Large

[F., fr. L. largus. Cf. Largo.]

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Lost

[Prop. p. p. of OE. losien. See Lose, v. t.]

Webster 1913 exact record

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