Album
/ˈæl.bəm/noun
A book, collection, or recording of items such as photographs, stamps, or music.
Did you know?The Latin *album* referred to a whitened board or tablet, and that same root also gave us words like *albino* and *albedo*—all tied to whiteness, brightness, and reflected light.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*h₂el-bʰ-
“to shine white, be bright”
Latin
Latin
albus
“white, bright”
Latin
Latin
album
“a white board or tablet coated with chalk, used for public notices”
Medieval Latin
Latin
album
“a register, list, or record kept on a white tablet or page”
17th Century
French
album
“a blank book for collecting autographs, poems, or keepsakes”
18th–19th Century
English
album
“a book for preserving photographs, then later a collection of recorded songs”