Etymology

booklouse

B3O1O1K5L1O1U1S1E1

Today it means: Any of the small insects that feed on bookbindings, especially those of the order Psocodea. Full definition →

English louse ← Middle English bok ← Old English bōc
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*bʰeh₂ǵosder.?
  2. Proto-Indo-European*bʰeh₂g-der.?
  3. Proto-Germanic*bōks
  4. Proto-West Germanic*bōk
  5. Old Englishbōc
  6. Middle Englishbok
  7. Englishbook
  8. Englishlouse
  9. English todaybooklouse

From book + louse. So called because they feed on bookbinding glue.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.