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".
Alternative letter-case form of Bible (“a specific version, edition, translation, or copy of the Christian religious text”).
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:
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:
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Alternative letter-case form of Bible (“the analogous holy book of another religion”).
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
K&R is considered the bible of C programming
3 more examples
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:
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:
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:
Law A binder containing copies of the most important documents for a particular matter.
Could you please add these to the case bible?
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Nautical, Transport Synonym of holystone: a piece of sandstone used for scouring wooden decks on ships.
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A compilation of problems and solutions from previous years of a given course, used by some students to cheat on tests or assignments.
At certain US universities
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:
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Omasum, the third compartment of the stomach of ruminants
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The upper part of a pin-tumbler lock, containing the driver pins and springs.
Etymology From Middle English bible, from Medieval 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 (whence English writs) for "the Scriptures".
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A specific version, edition, translation, or copy of one of the above-mentioned texts.
He had just become able to read, with much effort, short sentences in his Bible, and was constantly engaged during his leisure hours in studying its pages.1842, A. D. Eddy, Black Jacob, page 38:
An American imprisoned for nearly six months in North Korea has admitted that he deliberately left a Bible in a nightclub, in one of his first major interviews since his release.[…]“I felt once I left the Bible somewhere that God would take it the rest of the way into the hands of some kind of Christian organisation, and I’d be able to waltz out of country fat, dumb and happy, no problem... But God had other plans.”2014 November 1, Tony Bonnici, “US tourist held in North Korea felt ‘compelled to leave Bible’”, in The Times, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 27 Aug 2023: