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library

li·brar·y [ l brèrree, lbrəree, l bèrree ] (plural li·brar·ies)


noun 
Definition:
 
1. place where books are kept: a room, building, or institution where a collection of books or other research materials is kept

2. collection of things: a collection of books, newspapers, records, tapes, or other materials that are valuable for research

3. comput collection of software: a collection of things for use on a computer, e.g. programs or diskettes, or a collection of routines or instructions used by a computer program

[14th century. Via French< Latin libraria "bookshop" < librarius "of books" < liber "book"]

The generally preferred pronunciations of library sound both of the two r's: /l brèrree, / or /lbrəree, /. A variant pronunciation, to which some people object, is /l bèrree, /, in which the first r is dropped. This loss of the r is an example of a normal process that happens when some speakers are confronted with the repeated occurrence of the same sound within a word. Finding it difficult to articulate both sounds, especially when trying to say a word fast, some speakers will simply drop one of the two sounds.

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