Meanings
adjectivebook-learned (not comparable)
- derogatorynot comparableoftenVersed in books; having knowledge derived from books, as opposed to from practical knowledge.
Whate'er these book-learn'd block-heads say, Solon's the veriest fool in all the play.
1693, Decimus Junius Juvenalis, John Dryden, transl., “[The Satires of Decimus Junius Juvenalis.] The Third Satyr”, in The Satires of Decimus Junius Juvenalis. Translated into English Verse. […] Together with the Satires of Aulus Persius Flaccus. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson […], →OCLC
Origin
- Middle Englishbok-lerned
- Englishbook-learned
From Middle English bok-lerned, boke-lornut, equivalent to book + learned.
More words from Middle English
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
APA
book-learned. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/book-learned
MLA
“book-learned.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/book-learned. Accessed November 3, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “book-learned,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/book-learned.
Source: book-learned on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.