librorum

Librorum is the genitive plural form of liber, the Latin noun for a book or scroll. In English, it is typically rendered as “of the books” or “the books’.” It is used to express possession or association, appearing in phrases such as copia librorum (“an abundance of books”) or bibliotheca plena librorum (“a library full of books”).

Etymology and form: Liber is a second-declension masculine noun. Its genitive singular is librī and its genitive plural is librōrum. The form librorum is often encountered in classical, medieval, and Renaissance Latin to indicate belonging to or comprising multiple books, and it contributes to various compound expressions and cataloging phrases.

Usage: In classical Latin, librorum commonly appears in legal, philosophical, and scholarly writings to denote possession, content, or enumeration. It remains frequent in later Latin, including ecclesiastical and scholarly works. Notable usages include phrases such as Index librorum prohibitorum (“List of Prohibited Books”) and titles in bibliographic catalogs, where librorum marks a collection or inventory of books.

Related terms: The base noun liber yields related forms such as libri (nominative plural) and liber (singular). Derived terms include librarius (librarian or scribe) and bibliotheca (library), the latter often used in Latin to denote a place where books are kept. The Latin tradition of librorum is foundational for many modern terms referring to libraries and book collections.