bible

• POS: Noun
• HYPHEN: Bi=ble

CIDE DICTIONARY

bible, n. [F. bible, L. biblia, pl., fr. Gr. bibli`a, pl. of bibli`on, dim. of bi`blos, by`blos, book, prop. Egyptian papyrus.].

•  A book.  Chaucer.  [1913 Webster]
•  The Book by way of eminence, -- that is, the book which is made up of the writings accepted by Christians as of divine origin and authority, whether such writings be in the original language, or translated; the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments; -- sometimes in a restricted sense, the Old Testament; as, King James's Bible; Douay Bible; Luther's Bible. Also, the book which is made up of writings similarly accepted by the Jews; as, a rabbinical Bible.  [1913 Webster]
•  A book containing the sacred writings belonging to any religion; as, the Koran is often called the Mohammedan Bible.  [1913 Webster]
•  a book with an authoritative exposition of some topic, respected by many who are experts in the field.  [PJC]

Bible Society, an association for securing the multiplication and wide distribution of the Bible. -- Douay Bible. See Douay Bible. -- Geneva Bible. See under Geneva.

OXFORD DICTIONARY

bible, n.
1 a the Christian scriptures consisting of the Old and New Testaments. b the Jewish scriptures. c (bible) any copy of these (three bibles on the table). d a particular edition of the Bible (New English Bible).
2 colloq. any authoritative book (Wisden is his Bible).
3 the scriptures of any non-Christian religion.

Idiom

Bible-basher (or -thumper etc.) a person given to Bible-bashing. Bible-bashing (or -thumping etc.) sl. aggressive fundamentalist preaching. Bible belt esp. US the reputedly puritanical area of the southern and central US. Bible oath a solemn oath taken on the Bible.

Etymology

ME f. OF f. eccl.L biblia f. Gk biblia books (pl. of biblion), orig. dimin. of biblos, bublos papyrus

THESAURUS

bible

Douay Bible, Holy Scripture, Holy Writ, King James Version, Revised Standard Version, Revised Version, Scripture, Septuagint, Testament, Vulgate, canon, canonical writings, sacred writings, scripture, scriptures, the Book, the Good Book, the Scriptures, the Word