Italian for 'little book,' from Latin 'liber' (book) — the text of an opera, the little book that held the words.
The text of an opera, oratorio, or other long vocal work; the script or words as distinct from the music.
From Italian 'libretto' ('a little book, a booklet'), the diminutive of 'libro' ('book'), from Latin 'liber' ('book; the inner bark of a tree'). The Latin 'liber' originally meant the bast (inner bark) of a tree, which was used as a writing surface before papyrus and parchment became available. The connection between bark and book is paralleled in English, where 'book' derives from Germanic
Both 'libretto' (from Latin 'liber,' 'bark') and 'book' (from Germanic '*bōkō,' related to 'beech') ultimately refer to trees whose bark was used for writing. Two unrelated language families independently named their primary writing format after the tree material used to carry it. The parallel testifies to how fundamental tree bark was as an early writing surface across