describe
/dɪskˈɹaɪb/dih-SKRYB
/dɪskˈɹaɪb/dih-SKRYB
Meaningto write down
Common meaning: to say in words what something is like
- dedown, away, off; undoing
- scribto write; to mark with linesLewis & Short, Latin Dictionary (1879), p. 1647 · scan
‘down, away, off’ + ‘to write’ → describe
Sources & notes
Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.
Pronunciation
- UK IPA: converted from the US form by rule (unchecked). Respelling: generated.
- No UK recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-GB voice.
- US IPA: CMUdict (BSD-2), converted to IPA by rule. Respelling: generated.
- No US recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-US voice.
Origin: Built on Latin scrībō ‘to write; to mark with lines’.
Did you know: our wording, based on Lewis & Short, Latin Dictionary (1879), entry scrībō, p. 1647 · dictionary scan
Roots
- scrībō, scrīpsī, scrīptum Latin “to write; to mark with lines”
Related words
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