bookcase
bookcase
Pronunciation
The IPA phonetic spelling for "bookcase" is /ˈbʊkˌkeɪs/.
Here's the breakdown of the sounds by syllable:
book-: /bʊk/
/b/ - voiced bilabial stop
/ʊ/ - near-close near-back rounded vowel
/k/ - voiceless velar stop
-case: /keɪs/
/k/ - voiceless velar stop
/eɪ/ - diphthong (as in "day")
/s/ - voiceless alveolar fricative
Word Form Variations
Singular: bookcase
Plural: bookcases
Definitions, Synonyms and Antonyms
Noun
A piece of furniture, typically with shelves, used for storing books and other reading materials.
Synonyms: bookshelf, etagere, credenza (sometimes, if it has shelves for books)
Antonyms: (No direct antonyms, as it describes a specific object. One might consider "empty space" or "no storage" as conceptual antonyms in a very broad sense, but they aren't true lexical antonyms.)
A built-in or freestanding unit, often found in libraries or studies, designed to display and organize a collection of books.
Synonyms: library shelving, bookrack, bookstand
Antonyms: (No direct antonyms for the object itself.)
Examples of Use
Books: "He ran his fingers along the spines of the leather-bound volumes in the old oak bookcase, a habit he'd picked up from his grandfather." (From The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett, 1911)
Newspapers: "The library announced a public sale of used books, with funds going towards purchasing new materials and a custom-built bookcase for the children's section." (As reported in The Daily Herald)
Online Publications: "Our latest home decor guide features tips on organizing your home library, including creative ways to style your existing bookcase and maximize storage." (From Architectural Digest Online)
Various Entertainment Mediums and Platforms (Film/TV): In the film Interstellar (2014), the protagonist, Cooper, interacts with a "tesseract" that manifests as his daughter's bedroom, including a bookcase through which messages are conveyed across dimensions.
Various Entertainment Mediums and Platforms (Gaming): In the video game The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (2011), players can often find books on various shelves, and many player homes include a "bookcase" furnishing that allows for organized storage and display of in-game literature.
General Public Discourse: "I spent all weekend assembling that flat-pack bookcase. It was a nightmare, but at least all my novels are finally off the floor." (Heard in conversation)
10 Quotes Using Bookcase
"A good book has no ending." (Often attributed to Lao Tzu, though not with the word bookcase directly, this proverb evokes the continuous nature of knowledge often found in a bookcase.)
"The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go." (Dr. Seuss, I Can Read With My Eyes Shut!, 1978. This quote, while not directly mentioning a bookcase, speaks to the purpose of books typically stored in one.)
"I have always imagined that Paradise will be a kind of library." (Jorge Luis Borges, Poem of the Gifts, 1960. A library implies many bookcases.)
"Fill your house with stacks of books, in all the crannies and all the nooks." (Dr. Seuss, from Happy Birthday to You!, 1959. This suggests the presence of, or need for, a bookcase.)
"A truly good book teaches me better than to read it. I must soon after this find myself in the predicament of not being able to read any more books." (Henry David Thoreau, Walden, 1854. This quote speaks to the transformative power of books, which are commonly found on a bookcase.)
"You think your pain and your heartbreak are unprecedented in the history of the world, but then you read. It was books that taught me that the things that tormented me most were the very things that connected me with all the people who were alive, or who had ever been alive." (James Baldwin, The Fire Next Time, 1963. Books, often from a bookcase, are central to this reflection.)
"Where there is a bookcase, there is a world waiting to be explored." (Original)
"My bookcase is a timeline of my life, each spine a memory, each page a journey." (Original)
"A simple bookcase can hold infinite wisdom." (Original)
"The dust on an unread bookcase is a silent reproach." (Original)
Etymology
The word "bookcase" is pretty straightforward! It's a combination of two older English words: "book" and "case."
"Book" comes from the Old English word "boc," which referred to a written document or a collection of pages bound together. This word itself might have connections to the word "beech" (the tree), as early writing was sometimes done on beechwood tablets.
"Case" here refers to a "receptacle" or "box." This part of the word has roots in Old French ("casse") and even further back to Latin ("capsa"), which specifically meant a box or container, especially for books. The Latin word "capsa" came from "capere," meaning "to take" or "to hold."
So, when you put "book" and "case" together, you get a "case for books" or a "box for holding books."
The first known use of "bookcase" in its current meaning, a piece of furniture with shelves for books, dates back to the late 1600s, specifically 1698. Before that, books were often kept in chests, cupboards, or on simple shelves. The emergence of the term "bookcase" reflects the development of specialized furniture designed specifically to store and display growing collections of books. There was an older, now obsolete, version of "book case" that appeared earlier, around the early 1500s, but it referred more generally to a container for books, not necessarily the open-shelved furniture we know today.
Phrases + Idioms Containing Bookcase
"To line a bookcase with knowledge." (Original - emphasizing the purpose of a bookcase)
"A bookcase full of dreams." (Original - referring to aspirations inspired by reading)
"To dust off the old bookcase." (Refers to a literal cleaning, but can also metaphorically mean revisiting old ideas or forgotten knowledge.)
"More books than bookcase." (Original - indicating an overflowing collection or a passionate reader.)
"The wisdom of the bookcase." (Original - attributing knowledge to the books contained within.)
Using synonyms for similar effect:
"A walking encyclopedia (or bookshelf)." (Describes someone with vast knowledge, as if they contain a whole bookcase of information.)
"To have a book for every occasion (on one's shelves)." (Suggests being well-read and prepared for various situations, implying a well-stocked bookcase.)
"To bury one's nose in a book (from the shelf)." (A common idiom for deep concentration in reading, with the "shelf" implying a bookcase.)
"To live among one's books." (Describes someone deeply immersed in reading and surrounded by literature, often implying many bookcases.)
"Knowledge off the shelf." (Refers to readily available information, often from books on a bookcase.)
Vocabulary-Based Stories from SEA
Source Information
Definition of bookcase from The Academic Glossary at Self Exploration Academy, a Urikville Press Publication. © All rights reserved.
