bible en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- /ˈbaɪbəl/ (UK, US)
- (US) audio
Etymology
From Middle English bible, from Middle Latin biblia (“book”) (misinterpreted as a feminine from earlier Latin neuter plural biblia (“books”)), from Ancient Greek βιβλία (biblía, “books”), plural of βιβλίον (biblíon, “small book”), originally a diminutive of βίβλος (bíblos, “book”), from βύβλος (búblos, “papyrus”) (from the ancient Phoenician city of Byblos which exported this writing material). Old English used biblioþēce (from βιβλιοθήκη) and ġewritu (> English writs) for "the Scriptures".
Meanings
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(alt-of) Alternative letter-case form of Bible (“a specific version, edition, translation, or copy of the Christian religious text”).
alt of Bible
The bible was used by Presley throughout his life until his death on 16 August 1977 and contains his handwritten notes, thoughts and annotations.
2012 September 8, Cass Jones, “Elvis Presley's bible sells for £59,000”, in The Guardian, archived from the original on 19 Jan 2024:If a person should happen to meet them when on these journeys, he should, if he has not a bible in his pocket, draw a circle round him on the ground, and in God's name forbid their approach.
1828, Thomas Keightley, The Fairy Mythology, volume I, London: William Harrison Ainsworth, page 261:
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(alt-of) Alternative letter-case form of Bible (“the analogous holy book of another religion”).
alt of Bible
The Buddhist bible tells this story of Buddha’s time of temptation when he was living as a hermit on the Mount of Snow.
1925, Etsu Inagaki Sugimoto, A Daughter of the Samurai, page 76:
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(broadly) A comprehensive manual that describes something, or a publication with a loyal readership; a foundational text.
handyman’s bible
For example, Wired—the monthly bible of the ‘virtual class’—has uncritically reproduced the views of Newt Gingrich, […]
1995 September, Richard Barbrook, Andy Cameron, “The Californian Ideology”, in Mute, volume 1, number 3, →ISSN, archived from the original on 08 May 2013:Computer Lib was written as a popular primer, but its most profound effect was on computer programmers, who needed little persuasion about the value of computers. […] Having set out to appeal to the general public, Nelson managed to publish an insider's bible and highly intimate guide to hacker culture.
1995 June, Gary Wolf, “The Curse of Xanadu”, in Wired Magazine, archived from the original on 06 Jan 2007:K&R is considered the bible of C programming
This message resonated powerfully with the founders of Silicon Valley, including Steve Jobs, who described the [Whole Earth] Catalog as “one of the bibles of my generation.”
2026 April 23, Alec Nevala-Lee, quoting Steve Jobs, “The Questionable Triumph of the ‘Baling Wire Hippies’”, in Jeffrey Goldberg, editor, The Atlantic, Washington, D.C.: The Atlantic Monthly Group, →ISSN, →OCLC:
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(abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis) Ellipsis of pitch bible.
alt of pitch bible
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A binder containing copies of the most important documents for a particular matter.
Could you please add these to the case bible?
- Synonym of holystone: a piece of sandstone used for scouring wooden decks on ships.
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(qualifier:at certain US universities) A compilation of problems and solutions from previous years of a given course, used by some students to cheat on tests or assignments.
My friend’s a genius, he will give me problems one through nine. The bible of a sophomore will have the needed lines.
1965, Matt Fichtenbaum, Dan Murphy, “The Institute Screw”, in The Broadside of Boston, volume III, number 22:
- Omasum, the third compartment of the stomach of ruminants
- The upper part of a pin-tumbler lock, containing the driver pins and springs.
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| bibles | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Deriveds
Tijuana bible · show bible · bible-black · blue bible · bible literalist · smuggler's bible · bible society · bible leaf
Relateds
Synonyms
fardel · manyplies · psalterium · omasum · holystone
Translations (40)
el βίβλος (comprehensive manual) · io biblo (comprehensive manual) · ko 성경 (comprehensive manual) · el βύβλος (comprehensive manual) · mk би́блија (comprehensive manual) · sq Bibël (comprehensive manual) · ia biblia (comprehensive manual) · de Bibel (comprehensive manual) · ja 虎の巻 (comprehensive manual) · id Alkitab (comprehensive manual) · fi raamattu (comprehensive manual) · nl bijbel (comprehensive manual) · ms Alkitab (comprehensive manual) · sh Biblija (comprehensive manual) · hu biblia (comprehensive manual) · sh Библија (comprehensive manual) · ro Biblie (comprehensive manual) · sh Свето Писмо (comprehensive manual) · ru би́блия (comprehensive manual) · sv bibel (comprehensive manual) · tr İncil (comprehensive manual) · cs bible (comprehensive manual) · sh Sveto Pismo (comprehensive manual) · lv Bībele (comprehensive manual) · pt Bíblia (comprehensive manual) · et piibel (comprehensive manual) · ar إِنْجِيل (comprehensive manual) · az bible (comprehensive manual) · bg библия (comprehensive manual) · pl biblia (comprehensive manual) · es biblia (comprehensive manual) · th คัมภีร์ไบเบิล (comprehensive manual) · ko 성서 (comprehensive manual) · hu kézikönyv (comprehensive manual) · cy Beibl (comprehensive manual) · af bybel (comprehensive manual) · eo Biblio (comprehensive manual) · fr Bible (comprehensive manual) · ga bíobla (comprehensive manual) · lt Biblija (comprehensive manual)