bookstaff

English

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bookstaff

/ˈbʊkˌstæf/
/ˈbʊk.stɪf/
/ˈbʊk.stɑːf/
/ˈbʊk.stəf/

Where it comes from

From Middle English bocstaff (“letter, written character”), from Old English bōcstæf (“letter, written symbol”), from Proto-West Germanic *bōkstab, from Proto-Germanic *bōkstabaz (“beechwood staff; written character”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian Boukstäf, Dutch boekstaaf, German Low German Bookstaav, German Buchstabe, Danish bogstav, Swedish bokstav, Norwegian Bokmål bokstav, Norwegian Nynorsk bokstav, Faroese bókstavur, Icelandic bókstafur. Likely a semirevival of the Old English term. By surface analysis, book + staff.

noun bookstaves · bookstaffs · bookstave

archaic A letter, a letter of the alphabet, a written character. Brother Ormin cautions transcribers to follow his spelling exactly —And tat he looke well that he (And that he look well that he), An bookstaff write tweis (A letter write twice), Eywhere then it upo this book (Wherever then it upon this book) Is written o that wise (Is written on that wise), For he

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MLA

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

APA

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

Chicago

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

BibTeX

@misc{bookstaff_2026,
  title = {bookstaff},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/bookstaff},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}