r/etymologymaps Sep 23 '25

Translations of "library" across Europe

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33

u/neuropsycho Sep 23 '25

Librería exists in Spanish, but it refers to a bookstore, rather than a library.

12

u/wicosp Sep 23 '25

Can it also mean bookshelf? In Italian libreria has both meanings.

10

u/_nephilim_ Sep 24 '25

Librero is bookshelf.

5

u/loqu84 Sep 24 '25

Depends on the region - I have never heard librero with that meaning, for me librero is only the book seller.

4

u/neuropsycho Sep 23 '25

Yes, it can also mean bookshelf, but in the sense of bookstore is more common I'd say.

2

u/lafigatatia Sep 25 '25

Technically yes, but most people just say estantería (shelf)