bookstave

English

Etymology

From Middle English bocstaff, bocstaf (“letter; symbol; written character”), from Old English bōcstæf (“letter, written symbol”), from Proto-Germanic *bōkastabaz, equivalent to book +‎ stave (inflected form of staff). Compare modern Norwegian bokstav, Swedish bokstav, Danish bogstav, modern German Buchstabe, modern Dutch boekstaaf.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbʊk.stɪv/

Noun

bookstave (plural bookstaves)

1. (rare or archaic) Alternative form of bookstaff (“letter, alphabetic symbol”)
   • 2018, Christopher Ocker, Luther, Conflict, and Christendom:

     […] “[Doctor Martin] had undercut the pope, cardinals, and the great bishops, ... he had proved they could not offer so much as a bookstave from holy scripture to prove that their great power and lordship were based on God's command.

   • 2019, James Meek, To Calais, In Ordinary Time:

     'I can't read bookstaves, but Holiday learned himself,' said Softly. […] 'He learned me a bare five bookstaves, but it was enough to read a whole word.'

   • 2020, D. Vance Smith, Arts of Dying, page 43:

     The poetic dialogue between Solomon and Saturn not only calls the rune for R the “best of bookstaves” (bocstafa brego), but it also spells out the Pater Noster, acrostically with runes, […]