Cookbook

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈkʊkˌbʊk/

Definitions

1. A printed work that compiles numerous recipes and cooking techniques for various meals and dishes
2. A resource containing a collection of culinary instructions and tips aimed at assisting in food preparation and cooking
3. A book containing a wide range of recipes and instructions to help prepare meals

Etymology: The word is a plain compound: "cook" joined to "book", the latter being an ordinary English word that goes back to Old English "bōc". Nothing about its formation is hidden. A cookbook is simply a book about cooking, and that transparent construction is a large part of why the term needed no special coinage. There is a more interesting question about where the pattern came from. English speakers may have borrowed the idea rather than the parts. German has a closely matching word, "Kochbuch", built from "kochen" ("to cook") and "Buch" ("book"), and the English compound may be a calque, a word-for-word translation of that German model, rather than an independent English formation. The two terms are identical in structure, so the English version could have grown from German usage, though the exact route is uncertain.

Synonyms: recipe book, culinary book