bibliopoly

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bibliopoly

  • /ˌbɪbliˈɒpəli/ UK
  • /ˌbɪbliˈɑpəli/ US

Where it comes from

From bibliopole (“bookseller”) + -poly (suffix denoting sellers in a market). Bibliopole is derived from Latin bibliopōla (“bookseller”), from Ancient Greek βῐβλῐοπώλης (bĭblĭopṓlēs, “bookseller”), from βῐβλῐ́ον (bĭblĭ́on), βυβλίον (bublíon, “book; letter; tablet; strip of papyrus; writing”) (from βῠ́βλος (bŭ́blos, “papyrus plant; writings on papyrus; book”), from Βῠ́βλος (Bŭ́blos, “city of Byblos”), a source of papyrus) + -πώλης (-pṓlēs, suffix denoting a retailer, shop owner, etc.) (from πωλέω (pōléō, “to sell”)). The English word is also analysable as biblio- (prefix meaning ‘book’) + -poly.

noun

  1. literary, uncountable Bookselling. If the ſecretary to the French bibliopoly tranſlates the tragedy of Henry V. faithfully, as he has promiſed, he vvill open a fine ſchool of delicacy and decorum for the inſtruction of our courtiers.

    Similar: bibliopolism, bibliopolery

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MLA

"bibliopoly." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/bibliopoly. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

bibliopoly. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/bibliopoly

Chicago

"bibliopoly." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/bibliopoly.

BibTeX
@misc{bibliopoly_2026,
  title = {bibliopoly},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/bibliopoly},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}