'booklist' originates from Modern English, specifically the compound of the words 'book' and 'list'.

'book' comes from Old English 'bōc' (from Proto-Germanic '*bōkō'), originally referring to 'beech' (the wood used for writing) and then to a written work; 'list' comes from Old English 'liste' meaning 'border, strip, record', and the compound 'booklist' developed in Modern English by combining these two nouns to mean a list of books.

Initially the elements referred separately to 'book' and 'list'; the compound simply combined those senses and has retained the meaning of 'a list of books' or 'a recommended/readable list of books' in modern usage.