Meanings
nounblue book (plural blue books)
plural blue books
- A book of statistics or almanac, usually published by an agency or as a trade publication.
"I was the flail of the Lord up in those parts, I may tell you, though you won't find it in any Blue-book."
1912, Arthur Conan Doyle, The Lost World […], London; New York, N.Y.: Hodder and Stoughton, →OCLC
Origin
The term dates back to the 15th century, when large blue velvet-covered books were used for record-keeping by the Parliament of the United Kingdom.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
APA
blue book. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/blue%20book
MLA
“blue book.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/blue%20book. Accessed November 4, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “blue book,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/blue%20book.
Source: blue book on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.