bookstaff

== English == === Alternative forms === bookstave === Etymology === 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 boekstaf, 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. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /ˈbʊkˌstæf/, /ˈbʊk.stɪf/, /ˈbʊk.stɑːf/, /ˈbʊk.stəf/ === Noun === bookstaff (plural bookstaves or bookstaffs) (archaic or puristic, now rare) A letter, a letter of the alphabet, a written character. === See also ===