/luy"brer'ee, -breuh ree, -bree/ , n. , pl. libraries .
1. a place set apart to contain books, periodicals, and other material for reading, viewing, listening, study, or reference, as a room, set of rooms, or building where books may be read or borrowed.
2. a public body organizing and maintaining such an establishment.
3. a collection of manuscripts, publications, and other materials for reading, viewing, listening, study, or reference.
4. a collection of any materials for study and enjoyment, as films, musical recordings, or maps.
5. a commercial establishment lending books for a fixed charge; a lending library.
6. a series of books of similar character or alike in size, binding, etc., issued by a single publishing house.
7. Biol. a collection of standard materials or formulations by which specimens are identified.
8. canon 1 (def. 9).
9. Computers. a collection of software or data usually reflecting a specific theme or application.
[ 1300-50; ME libraire librairie libraria, n. use of fem. of L librarius (adj.) of books, equiv. to lib ( e ) r book + -arius -ARY ]
Pronunciation . LIBRARY, with one r -sound following close upon another, is particularly vulnerable to the process of dissimilation - the tendency for neighboring like sounds to become unlike, or for one of them to disappear altogether. The pronunciation /luy"brer ee/ , therefore, while still the most common, is frequently reduced by educated speakers, both in the U.S. and in England, to the dissimilated /luy"beuh ree/ or /luy"bree/ . A third dissimilated form /luy"ber ee/ is more likely to be heard from less educated or very young speakers, and is often criticized. See colonel, February, governor .