Etymology

The word book comes from Old English "bōc", which in turn comes from the Germanic root "*bōk-", cognate to "beech".^[4] Similarly, in Slavic languages (for example, Russian,Bulgarian, Macedonian) "буква" (bukva—"letter") is cognate with "beech". In Russian and in Serbian and Macedonian, the word "букварь" (bukvar') or "буквар" (bukvar) refers specifically to a primary school textbook that helps young children master the techniques of reading and writing. It is thus conjectured that the earliest Indo-European writings may have been carved on beech wood.^[5] Similarly, the Latin word codex, meaning a book in the modern sense (bound and with separate leaves), originally meant "block of wood".