writingn.
/ˈrʌɪtɪŋ/, U.S. /ˈraɪdɪŋ/ I. The action of writing, and related uses.
1.
a. The action or process of forming or setting down letters, symbols or words on a surface such as paper with a pen, pencil, brush, etc.; the occupation of one who writes by hand.Earliest in compounds; cf. Compounds 1a.
ΘΠ
society > communication > writing > [noun]
writingeOE
penning1548
composition1553
characterizing1591
penship1622
scription1627
exaration1631
inkshed1672
scrivening1680
quill-driving1756
pen-and-inkage1894
eOE Royal Psalter xliv. 2 Lingua mea calamus scribę uelociter scribentis : tunge min writingfeþer boceres [lOE Canterbury Psalter writingfeþere gewriteres] hrædlice writendes.
?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 65 Of silence & of speche nis buten an lare. & for þi inwritunge ha eorneð ba togederes.
c1390 (a1376) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Vernon) (1867) A. iii. l. 61 For-þi I lere ȝou, lordynges, such writynge ȝe leue, To writen in Wyndouwes of ȝoure wel dedes.
?c1425 (c1412) T. Hoccleve De Regimine Principum (Royal 17 D.vi) (1860) 37 What man that twenty yere and more In writyng hathe contynuede..it smertethe hym fulle sore In every veyne and place of his body.
1487–8 in H. Littlehales Medieval Rec. London City Church (1905) 132 For the wrytyng of the names of the ffounnderes.
1533 T. More 2nd Pt. Confut. Tyndals Answere ii. p. ccccxiii He that hath yt [sc. faith] in his herte of goddes own wrytynge.
a1535 T. More Hist. Richard III in Wks. (1557) 56/1 For al ye time..could scant haue suffised vnto ye bare wryting alone.
1549 in A. Feuillerat Documents Office of Revels Edward VI (1914) 42 To waplett the payntour..ffor the wryting of ix peces of Canvas.
1631 T. Powell Tom of All Trades (1876) 141 The Scriveners..had no imployment, but writing of blanke Bonds.
1719 D. Defoe Life Robinson Crusoe 336 He directed me to send it with a Letter of his Writing.
1797 Encycl. Brit. XVIII. 917/2 The bark of trees was also used for writing by the ancients.
1827 M. Faraday Chem. Manip. xvi. 423 The diamond should be held in a vertical position during the writing.
1849 M. P. Merrifield Orig. Treat. Painting I. p. xxix The two branches were frequently practised by the same person, whence the term ‘writing’..was applied to painting on glass, which was also called ‘writing on glass’.
1882 Notes & Queries 30 Dec. 542/2 I believe Lancaster first suggested writing on sand with the finger.
1918 Jrnl. Ecol. 6 86 The many demands on time which make even the writing of a cheque seem irksome.
2006 A. C. Papanicolaou et al. in A. C. Papanicolaou Amnesias v. 117 They may resemble dyslexic or agraphic patients in that they may present difficulties in reading and in writing.
b. The action or practice of creating text by pressing the keys of a typewriter or similar instrument; typing. Cf. typewriting n. and adj. at typewrite v. Derivatives. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > printing > typing > [noun]
typinga1638
typewriting1867
writing1876
typescripting1981
1876 Times 11 Dec. 8/1 Other education—reading reckoning, grammar, geography, writing with the typewriter—is not neglected.
1883 J. G. Petrie Man. for Type-writer 5 While the writing is being done by the fingers of the right hand.
1899 J. Wardle Universal Typewriter Man. 10 It also keeps the paper in position for writing.
1905 Pop. Mech. May 523 An accessory key moves the carriage for the writing of numbers and signs much on the order of the upper case key in single keyboard typewriters.
1943 Public Utilities Fortn. 13 May 39/1 (advt.) One of the greatest business aids ever developed for stepping up the writing of typewritten records... The Egry Speed-Feed doubles operator output.
c. Computing. The action or process of causing data to be entered into memory, or recorded in or on a storage medium or device (such as a disc, tape, or drive). Cf. write v. 13.
ΘΚΠ
society > computing and information technology > data > database > [noun] > storage > action of storing
writing1946
saving1965
save1982
1946 H. H. Goldstine & J. von Neumann in J. von Neumann Coll. Wks. (1963) V. 28 In ‘writing’ a word into the memory, it is similarly not only the time effectively consumed in ‘writing’ which matters, but also the time needed to ‘find’ the specified location in the memory.
1970 O. Dopping Computers & Data Processing xv. 244 Most writing errors on tape, like most reading errors, are caused by small particles of dust between tape and magnetic head, and in most cases the dust particle is removed..if the writing is repeated.
1973 C. W. Gear Introd. Computer Sci. iv. 164 A computer input/output controller..sequences the reading and writing of characters.
2008 L. Volonino & R. Anzaldua Computer Forensics for Dummies vi. 111 Better safeguards are in place to prevent the writing of data to the original storage device.
2.
a. Style, manner, or quality of written composition or literary expression.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > literature > style of language or writing > [noun]
writingc1350
mannerc1375
pena1387
langue?a1400
indite1501
rate1517
conveyance?1521
composition1532
turn1533
set1535
tune1537
style1577
composure1601
way1612
language1699
rhetoricity1921
c1350 Apocalypse St. John: A Version (Harl. 874) (1961) 4 (MED) His writyng is on þis manere: on þe first he setteþ a litel prolouge.
a1450 (?c1421) J. Lydgate Siege Thebes (Arun.) (1911) l. 57 (MED) Canterbury talys..Echon ywrite..By hym þat was..Floure of Poetes..keping in substaunce The sentence hool..Be crafty writinge of his sawes.
1517 S. Hawes Pastime of Pleasure (1928) xx. 98 Besechynge you..to pardone me of my rude wrytynge For with wofull herte was myne endytynge.
?c1535 L. Cox Arte Rhethorycke (new ed.) sig. F Doubtful wrytynge..is whan the wordes may be expounded dyuers wayes.
a1626 F. Bacon Controv. Church Eng. in Wks. (1879) I. 344 Bitter and earnest writing must not hastily be condemned.
1664 J. Dryden Rival Ladies Ded. sig. A3v Supposing our Country-men had not receiv'd this Writing [of scenes in verse] till of late.
1712 J. Addison Spectator No. 409. ¶10 A finished Taste of good Writing.
1819 J. Keats Let. 24 Aug. in Poet. Wks. (1883) III. 320 Fine writing is, next to fine doing, the top thing in the world.
1884 R. W. Church Bacon ix. 220 Easy and unstudied as his writing seems.
1968 Brit. Jrnl. Psychiatry 114 1053/1 The basic information contained in this pamphlet is generally accurate, and the writing is always intelligible and never over-technical.
2021 Age (Melbourne) (Nexis) 20 Feb. (Spectrum section) 11 Nobody writes like this. It is great writing. Whether it is good writing will depend very much on your tastes.
b. The action of composing and recording in written form; expression of thoughts or ideas in written words; esp. literary composition or production; the occupation of a professional writer.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > literature > art or occupation of writer or author > [noun] > action or practice of composing
diting1382
settinga1450
writingc1450
makinga1470
context?a1475
indite1508
inditing?a1513
inditement1567
contexture1603
composal1615
composing1873
c1450 J. Lydgate Fall of Princes (Royal 18 D.iv) i. l. 2677 As the poete bi wrytyng techith vs, Off Mynotaurus thus the name began.
1485 W. Caxton tr. Thystorye & Lyf Charles the Grete sig. aij/1 Al thynges that ben reduced by wrytyng ben wryton to our doctryne.
a1586 in W. A. Craigie Maitland Folio MS (1919) I. 238 Gif lytill rewarde be in wryting Better war leif my paper quhyt.
1597 F. Bacon Ess. f. 1v Reading maketh a full man,..and writing an exacte man.
1639 in Hamilton Papers (1880) 89 Efter the wrytinge of this other the Lord Oboyne..delyuered me your Ma[jes]ties of the 13.
1664 in Extracts State Papers (Friends' Hist. Soc.) (1912) 3rd Ser. 213 Hee..is..not of parts for the writeing of such a Letter.
1760 L. Sterne Life Tristram Shandy II. xi. 68 Writing..is but a different name for conversation.
1774 Acct. Life of Goldsmith in O. Goldsmith Retaliation (ed. 7) p. v Resolving to pursue the profession of writing, he returned to London.
1840 F. Marryat Olla Podrida II. xix. 58 Magazine writing..is the most difficult of all writing.
1885 ‘Mrs. Alexander’ Valerie's Fate iii Though all three..could talk French fast enough, the writing of it was another matter.
1913 J. Willis Women of Hist. 216 To make up the difference betwixt her income..and her expenditures..,she turned to writing—in every age the desperate recourse of the embarrassed and the unfit.
1977 Southern Accent (Southern Missionary College, Collegedale, Tennessee) 3 Nov. 7/1 Popular opinion to the contrary, writing is not as easy as it may at first appear.
2019 K. Hudson Lowborn iv. 23 I now knew for certain that the writing of this book would be a process of turning myself inside out.
3. The action, practice, or skill of drawing up or copying (legal) documents or formal or official correspondence, keeping records, accounts, etc.; spec. the occupation or profession of a lawyer, solicitor, legal clerk, or Writer to the Signet (cf. writer n. 2, Writer to the Signet at writer n. Phrases 2). Now historical (often merged with or coloured by other senses in recent use).
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > writing > [noun] > writing as occupation
writingc1405
scriveneryc1454
clerkship1550
calligraphy1590
pencraft1600
scribeship1606
clerking1679
pen-and-inkmanship1804
clerkhood1873
clerkage1883
clerkery1883
clerkdom-
c1405 (c1387–95) G. Chaucer Canterbury Tales Prol. (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 328 Therto he [sc. a sergeaunt of lawe] koude endite and make a thyng Ther koude no wight pynchen at his writyng.
a1513 J. Irland Meroure of Wyssdome (1965) II. 92 Mar than ony vthir sciens..as of writting pleding bigging of merchandis or ony vthir.
1592 in Rec. Parl. Scotl. to 1707 (2007) 1592/4/110 Ane article anent informall writting and usurping of the offices of admittit wrettaris to the signet.
1594 Hist. Writers to Signet (1890) 230 To be suspendit fra all writting quhill the payment of the foirsaid pane.
1681 in Rec. Parl. Scotl. to 1707 (2007) 1681/7/29 All writers to the signet, all publict notars and other persons imployed in writeing or agenting.
?1718 R. Samber tr. P.-D. Huet Mem. Dutch Trade 205 [In Siam] there are very few Commissaries, and those most of them employed in Writing to take care of the trade, which consists principally in Deer Skins..and in Tin.
1742 H. Fielding Joseph Andrews I. ii. xvii. 298 The poor People..bred their Son to Writing and Accounts, and other Learning. View more context for this quotation
1846 Suppl. to Westmorland Gaz. 22 Aug. For the last three years I have been employed in writing at sales. Occasionally I have been employed in an attorney's office, but never regularly.
1903 Sunderland Daily Echo 5 May 5/5 (advt.) Wanted, writing or bookkeeping, or any work that can be done at home.
2017 A. Andreani Elizabethan Secretariat & Signet Office i. 29 Notwithstanding the precedence and predominance of writing and record-keeping, the tasks of the clerks also entailed the preparation of the chamber and the organisation of agendas.
4. The form or order in which letters or other signs are set down to form words, formulae, etc.; spelling, orthography. Now somewhat rare.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > writing > spelling > [noun]
writinga1413
orthography1588
spellingc1661
speldering1876
a1413 (c1385) G. Chaucer Troilus & Criseyde (Pierpont Morgan) (1882) v. l. 1794 Þer is..gret dyuersite In Englyssh and yn wrytyng of oure tonge, So preye I god þat noon myswryte þe.
c1425 Concordance Wycliffite Bible in Speculum (1968) 43 272 Aftir my manere of writyng, sum word stondiþ in sum place, which same word, aftir þi maner of writyng, shulde stonde in anoþir place.
1521 A. Barclay Introd. Frenche sig. Avv Whiche is contrary bothe in the true wrytynge, & also to the true pronuncyacion of perfyte frenche.
1582 R. Mulcaster 1st Pt. Elementarie xi. 56 The hole ortografie, which concerneth the right writing of our tung, will..help the writing master.
c1620 A. Hume Of Orthogr. Britan Tongue (1870) Ded. 1 I..seeing sik uncertentie in our men's wryting, as if a man wald indyte one letter to tuentie of our best wryteres, nae tuae..wald agree.
a1637 B. Jonson Eng. Gram. i. iii, in Wks. (1640) III The unstedfastnesse of our tongue, or incertaintie of our writing.
1728 E. Chambers Cycl. at Orthography Attempts have been since made to reduce the Writing to the Pronunciation.
1889 Jrnl. Amer. Oriental Soc. 13 p. cxxi The work before us..consists..in describing and accounting for the variations by which the correct writing is beset.
1959 Morning Call (Allentown, Pa.) 8 Jan. 18/1 A single spelling bee does not make a generation of young people expert in the correct writing of their native tongue.
5.
a. Handwriting, script; a particular form, style, or method of penmanship; the form or style of handwriting used by a particular person.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > writing > handwriting or style of > [noun]
handOE
scripturea1400
writing1440
written hand1520
hand write1568
handwriting1571
written hand1580
write1591
calligraphy1645
penmanship1695
hand of write1700
manuscript1771
autography1787
calography1803
calligraph1831
script1834
chirography1838
scription1846
hand lettering1864
back-hand1885
Promptorium Parvulorum (Harl. 221) 148 False wrytynge, plastographia.
1476 in T. Thomson Acts Lords Auditors (1839) 42/1 It wes his awne propir hand and writting.
1560 Bible (Geneva) Ezra iv. 7 The writing of the letter was the Aramites writing.
1590 P. Bales Writing Schoolemaster sig. Q2 The Arte and knowledge of faire writing.
1602 J. Willis Art Stenogr. (title page) A very easie direction for Steganographie, or Secret Writing.
1620 W. Folkingham Brachigraphy To Rdr. sig. A 4 Applying my Letters to those formes of Short-writing, which intimate regionarie Vowels by contiguitie of Consonants.
1658 E. Phillips New World Eng. Words at Calligraphy Fair, or handsome writing.
1728 E. Chambers Cycl. at Gothic Gothic Character, or Gothic Writing, is a Character, or manner of Writing, which, in the main, is the same with the Roman, only full of Angles, Turns, and Bendings.
1749 D. Hartley Observ. Man i. iii. 307 Hieroglyphical Writing in all its Varieties.
1784 T. Astle Origin & Progress Writing 7 This..produced a further change in writing.
1819 P. B. Shelley Cenci iv. iv. 75 Sav... Knowest thou this writing, Lady?.. Lucr... It should be Orsino's hand!
1883 Stationer & Bookseller 8 May 10/1 Best finished round-hand writing.
1892 I. Zangwill Big Bow Myst. 80 The landlady knew his writing.
1910 J. R. Magrath in Obituary Bk. Queen's College, Oxf. p. xii The other obits in Gothic writing, none of them being in the writing of the scribe of the Kalendar, are thus arranged [etc.].
1988 U. Holden Unicorn Sisters ii. 22 Her writing was tiny but neat.
2020 Yorks. Post (Nexis) 18 Feb. Although I might scribble notes..for individuals to take away with them I wonder if they can read my writing.
b. The art or skill of writing by hand; the method or practice of representing language with written letters or symbols, esp. viewed as an important cultural or technological development.
Π
c1450 Jacob's Well (1900) 278 Johun enformyd hym in wrytyng, & in endyȝtyng.
a1500 (?c1440) J. Lydgate Horse, Goose & Sheep (Lansd.) l. 188 in Minor Poems (1934) ii. 547 Yiff pennys & writyng were a-way, Off remembraunce we had lost the kay.
1576 T. Auchinlek Protocol Bk. (National Rec. Scotl. NP1/36) f. 1 To be sufficiantlie instruktit lernit and exercisit in his grammer and humanitie wt ye prettik of wreting als weill in our langage as vtheris.
1604 E. Grimeston tr. J. de Acosta Nat. & Morall Hist. Indies i. xxv. 80 They having no vse of bookes, or writing.
1638 F. Junius Painting of Ancients 126 Before the invention of letters and writing.
1728 E. Chambers Cycl. (at cited word) Writing is now chiefly practised among us by means of Pen, Ink, and Paper.
1784 T. Astle (itle) The origin and progress of writing, as well hieroglyphic as elementary.
1825 Mirror Lit., Amusem., & Instr. 29 Jan. 75/1 The three R's—Reading, Writing, and Rithmetic.
1892 Pop. Sci. Monthly Dec. 244 Writing..is the art of fixing speech by conventional signs.
1909 Bombay Gaz. 26 Jan. 8/7 When her father died..she set herself up to learn reading and writing, and succeeded without any teaching.
2001 J. Gaff I wonder why Fish grew Legs 4 Prehistory..is the story of Earth from its birth to the invention of writing, about 5,500 years ago.
6.
a. The process or method of using written symbols to represent musical notes, record compositions, etc.; musical notation.
Π
1609 J. Dowland tr. A. Ornithoparchus Micrologus i. xi. 26 A Song is a melody formed of a Sound, Mood, & Tone, by a liuely Voice. I say by a sound, because of the writing of the Notes, which improperly we call a Song.
1725 J. F. de la Fond New Syst. Music iii. 137 We have no one word to express all the figures used in the writing of Music. The French use the word Tablature, and..I shall make use of it all along.
1807 J. Belfour tr. T. de Yriarte Music (Notes) 157 Sharps and flats are very useful signs, invented for the writing of Music, and the adjustment of instruments to the human voice.
1867 G. W. Samson Elem. Art Crit. iii. 88 In the modern writing of music five parallel lines with four intervening spaces, called the ‘staff’, furnish a scale upon which the notes indicating the pitch and succession of tones are inscribed.
1909 J. C. Hadden Master Musicians 3 It was Guido of Arezzo..and Franco of Cologne..who, between them, laid the foundations of our present system of musical writing.
1962 H. A. Murphy Music Fund. iv. 15 Like language, music may be written and hence requires an alphabet. However, the writing or notation of music is less precise than that of language.
2004 I. Papathanasiou & N. Boukas in G. Wolfram Palaeobyzantine Notations III 12 Liturgical fragment no. 1..presents a unique system for the writing of music.
b. The style, manner, or form of musical composition; the action or process of composing music.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > music > composing music > [noun]
composition1597
composure1601
melopoeia1721
composing1782
writing1782
1782 C. Burney Gen. Hist. Music II. 490 The most subtle and elaborate productions [sc. masses] that I have ever seen in this kind of writing.
1833 Harmonicon i. 120 On the methods of developing a subject... On the methods of studying and practising the writing of melody.
1889 E. Prout Harmony (ed. 3) 245 Four-part writing is justly considered the foundation of harmony.
1901 F. Young Mastersingers 96 In the writing of a symphony there are as many problems to be solved as in the building of a church.
1990 Opera Now May 75/1 There is a strong Mahlerian cast to much of the melodic writing and the orchestration is original and masterly.
2010 M. Crump Martinů & Symphony xiii. 395 The writing for the strings becomes especially colourful, with harmonics and glissandi prominent.
II. Written state; written form.
7. The state or condition of having been written; written form. Frequently in writing.See commit v. 6a, put v. 25a, reduce v. 20b(a).
ΘΠ
society > communication > writing > state of having been written > [noun]
writc1175
writingc1330
written hand1520
c1330 (?a1300) Arthour & Merlin (Auch.) (1973) l. 1186 Þere he teld of mani a þing Þat Blasi made of writeing.
1425 Rolls of Parl.: Henry VI (Electronic ed.) Parl. Apr. 1425 §12. m. 2 Yeving in a pee de gree in writyng, prevyng my said lord erle mareschall commyng lynealy of blod riall.
1462 J. Paston in Paston Lett. & Papers (2004) I. 524 Let them..send ther excuse to me in wrytyng.
1560 J. Daus in tr. J. Sleidane Commentaries Ep. sig. Aii Thei..commit to wrytinge, stories.
1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues Mettre par escrit, to..set downe in, commit vnto, writing.
1642 tr. J. Perkins Profitable Bk. vii. §478. 210 [Another will]..by him put in writing.
1753 Act 26 Geo. II c. 19 §15 Which Examination the said Justices are hereby required to take down in Writing.
1831 F. Palgrave Hist. Anglo-Saxons vii. 151 Many matters now consigned to writing.
1831 F. Palgrave Hist. Anglo-Saxons vii. 152 Some little was reduced into writing.
1887 A. Birrell Obiter Dicta 2nd Ser. 42 The author's agreement..is in writing.
1917 Jrnl. Philos., Psychol. & Sci. Methods 14 188 The main ground, I think, which brought the ancient Rabbis to prohibit the putting into writing of the oral law, was their fear that it might become fixed and not sufficiently flexible.
1951 P. Hunt Oscar Slater 65 According to the good old practice of our forebears, the evidence of a witness..was reduced to writing, read over to him, and signed by himself and by the judge.
2002 Mirror 18 Mar. 36/1 I would be very surprised if this supplier put it in writing to you because, if they did, let me tell you they are dead in the water.
III. Something that is written, and related uses.
8. That which is in a written state or form; something expressed or recorded in text; written information, composition, or production; literary work or compilation. Also figurative. †the Writing (quot. 1340), †Sacred Writing (quot. 1797): Scripture.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > writing > written text > [noun]
rounOE
pagine?c1225
writ-rounc1275
dite1340
writing1340
paperc1390
scripturea1400
writinga1400
charactc1400
textc1400
papera1500
black and white1569
page?1606
character1609
litera scripta1660
matter1683
legend1822
screed1834
reading1836
society > leisure > the arts > literature > [noun]
writing1340
scripturea1382
scripturea1382
scrowsa1513
stuff1542
the republic of letters1677
belles-lettres1710
literature1711
the Muses1838
lit.1850
letters1916
1340 Ayenbite (1866) 71 (MED) Zuyche byeþ þo zonges of helle, ase þe writinge ous telþ.
1451 G. Debenham et al. in Paston Lett. & Papers (2004) II. 71 The shereffe..hath writyng from the Kyng that he shall make such a panell.
a1513 R. Fabyan New Cronycles Eng. & Fraunce (1516) I. lxvi. f. xxiiii That sayinge disagreeth to the wrytynge of Eutropius.
1537 Coventry Leet Bk. 726 Which was latelie surrendered & given vpp by wrytyng to theme.
1600 W. Shakespeare Merchant of Venice ii. vii. 64 A carrion death, within whose emptie eye there is a written scroule, Ile reade the writing . View more context for this quotation
1611 Bible (King James) 1 Esdras ii. 2 He made proclamation..by writing . View more context for this quotation
1797 Monthly Mag. 3 529/1 A passage in sacred writing, where the Philistines..sent back the ark of God.
1808 W. Selwyn Abridgem. Law Nisi Prius II. 755 Neither the 4th nor 17th sections of this statute require, that the agent should be authorized by writing.
1887 Cornhill Mag. Jan. 65 The laundress..denied all knowledge of the type-writer or the writing.
1894 H. Drummond Lowell Lect. Ascent of Man 427 Nature is God's writing, and can only tell the truth.
1954 C. L. Barnhart New Cent. Cyclopedia of Names II. 2753/1 Her writing is concerned with the racial and colonial problems in South Africa.
2020 M. McAteer Excess in Mod. Irish Writing i. 5 The reaction to Arnold's thought that we find in the writing of Oscar Wilde.
9.
a. A written work intended to be published or widely read or studied; esp. a book. Often (and now chiefly) in plural: the writings or works of an author or group of authors, or from a given period, in a particular genre, etc.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > literature > a written composition > [noun]
i-writeOE
bookOE
writOE
workOE
pagine?c1225
lettrurec1330
dite1340
inditing1340
writing1340
scripta1350
dittya1387
stylea1400
scriptiona1425
framec1475
invention1484
piece1533
ditement1556
paperwork1577
composition1603
confection1605
composure?1606
page?1606
the written word1619
performance1665
literature1852
1340 Ayenbite (1866) 46 Þis boc is more ymad uor þe leawede þanne uor þe clerkes þet conneþ þe writinges.
c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) 2 Macc. ii. 1 It is founden in dyscryuyngis, or wrytyngis, of Jeremye, the prophete.
c1449 R. Pecock Repressor (1860) 81 Holi Writt in this wise takun, is not holier neither better than eny other writing is.
1526 W. Bonde Pylgrimage of Perfection ii. sig. Liv That suche writynges be aproued by..discret gostly fathers.
1638 F. Junius Painting of Ancients 105 Famous men have studied to illustrate these Arts..by their writings and disputations.
1711 R. Steele Spectator No. 4. ⁋8 The present Writing is only to admonish the World.
1722 W. Sewel Hist. Quakers Pref. The said Bishop..hath obtained such an high Esteem by his Writings.
a1822 P. B. Shelley Julian & Maddalo in Posthumous Poems (1824) 16 If this sad writing thou shouldst ever see.
1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. II. vi. 108 The writings of the fathers.
1900 L. Stephen Eng. Utilitarians I. vi. 307 His most important writing was the Defence of Usury.
1963 R. Wittkower & M. Wittkower Born under Saturn i. 13 The fifteenth century biographical writings on artists revived a branch of literature which..had flourished in classical antiquity in a modest way.
2018 Times (Nexis) 25 Feb. Like many other students at the time, he was drawn to the writings of Marx and Lenin.
b. A written document, note, letter, etc. Cf. sense 12a. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > correspondence > letter > [noun]
epistleeOE
pistleOE
writOE
letter?c1225
brief1330
writingc1384
missive letter1519
scroll1534
missive?1553
scrieve1581
favour1645
chitty1698
chit1757
mail letter1799
society > communication > writing > written text > [noun] > piece or quantity of
i-writeOE
writlOE
hand-writc1175
scritec1325
scripta1350
writingc1384
letterc1390
write1428
briefa1450
titlec1450
scroll1534
escript1550
passagec1550
hand write1567
side1579
scrieve1581
manuscript1600
sheetful1711
page1743
slateful1836
chirograph1844
pageful1859
M1899
c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) Dan. v. 7 The kyng..saith to the wijs men of Babiloyne, Who euere shal reede this wrytyng..shal be clothid with purpre.
1455 J. Fastolf in Paston Lett. & Papers (2004) II. 141 All though my writyngges put yow many tymes to gret labour.
1513 Queen Katherine Let. in H. Ellis Orig. Lett. Eng. Hist. (1824) 1st Ser. I. 90 Came a Post from my lord Howard with a writing at length of every thing as it was.
1555 H. Braham Inst. Gentleman sig. Lv Ye childe brought the same wryghting to the handes of Mertia.
1629 T. Hobbes tr. Thucydides Peloponnesian War (1822) 256 These were the contents of the writing.
1659 J. Milton Considerations touching Hirelings 41 Without an other cleer and express donation, wherof they shew no evidence or writing.
1859 J. M. Jephson & L. Reeve Narr. Walking Tour Brittany xiv. 233 A writing to the effect that..it [sc. a museum] was closed altogether.
1890 R. B. Girdlestone Found. Bible 21 There are frequent references in the Book of Ezra to writings, such as proclamations, genealogies, decrees, letters, copies.
1919 V. Woolf Night & Day xviii. 254 She summoned her courage, fixed her eyes upon a lightning-splintered ash-tree, and, almost as if she were reading a writing fixed to the trunk, began.
1995 T. J. Gardner Criminal Evid. xxii. 453 An expert could testify as to the identity of the writer of a check, a demand note in a robbery case, or a threat found in a writing sent to a victim.
10.
a. Chiefly in plural. The sacred writings of Christianity contained in the Bible; the Scriptures. Chiefly with modifying word, as the (sacred or holy) writings.
ΘΚΠ
society > faith > aspects of faith > Bible, Scripture > [noun]
Holy Writc900
writeOE
God's bookOE
writOE
bookOE
Biblea1300
holy lettrurec1330
scripturec1330
the (sacred or holy) writings1340
gospel1393
worda1425
escripture1489
Holy Write1508
theologya1513
the written word1533
Book of God1548
oracle1548
hand biblea1680
good book1740
sacred book1782
the sacred volume1850
bibliotheca1879
Kitab1885
society > faith > aspects of faith > Bible, Scripture > Hebrew scripture > [noun] > Hagiographa
the (sacred or holy) writings1340
Hagiographaa1382
hagiography1646
Kethubim1690
1340 Ayenbite (1866) 13 Þanne þridde day.., uor to uoluelle þe writinges, [he] aros uram dyaþe to liue.
c1475 (?a1430) J. Lydgate tr. G. Deguileville Pilgrimage Life Man (Tiber.) l. 22280 And my name..Is callyd Agyographe, Whiche is to seyne..Off holy wrytynge the scripture.
a1653 H. Binning Wks. (1735) 20/2 The Hand of God must first write on their Heart, ere they understand the Writings of the Scriptures.
1663 S. Patrick Parable of Pilgrim (1687) 327 The truth of the holy Writings.
1713 H. Felton Diss. Reading Classics 129 The Sacred Writings, even in our Translation, preserve their Majesty.
1837 Penny Cycl. IX. 438/1 Mention is made of the use of signets in the sacred writings.
2019 Daat: Jrnl. Jewish Philos. No. 87 p. lxiv The problem itself has a long history, and the attempts to solve it range between apologetic approaches, which try to interpret the refuted empirical claims in the holy writings in a way that suits science, to fideistic approaches.
b. The third of the three canonical divisions of the Hebrew Scriptures after the Law and the Prophets; the books contained in this division, also called the Hagiographa or Kethubim.The books of the Hagiographa are: Psalms, Proverbs, Job, Canticles, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther, Daniel, Ezra–Nehemiah, and Chronicles.
Π
1610 A. Willet Hexapla in Danielem 6 They diuide the olde Testament, into the lawe.., and the Prophets..: and into the holy writings, as they call them.
1851 Jrnl. Sacred Lit. Jan. 178 It will be proper to notice in the outset the Jewish division of these books into three parts, called the Law, the Prophets, and the Writings.
1941 R. H. Pfeiffer Introd. to O.T. (ed. 5) iv. 61 The third division of the Hebrew Bible, following the Law and the Prophets, is simply called the ‘Writings’ (Hebrew, Ketûbîm) or ‘Hagiographa’ (sacred writings).
1976 Church Times 30 Jan. 6/1 He begins with Ecclesiastes and some of the other books from the Writings—namely, Proverbs, Job and the Psalms.
2004 K. Atkinson Judaism iii. 41 The Writings are a collection of several different types of literature.
11. † a. Wording or lettering scored, engraved, or impressed on a surface; an inscription. Obsolete except as merged with sense 11b.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > writing > written text > an inscription > [noun]
onwritingOE
writinga1382
inwritingc1384
writa1400
scripturec1400
scriptiona1425
style?a1527
inscriptiona1552
epigram1552
inscriptor1603
inscript1611
epigraph1624
scribings1870
wording1908
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) (1959) Exod. xxxii. 16 Þe wrytyng [L. scriptura] forsoþ of god: was grauen in þe tablys.
?1473 W. Caxton tr. R. Le Fèvre Recuyell Hist. Troye (1894) II. lf. 198 He shewid the wrytyng that, that other ymage helde.
1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 675/1 There was a writynge upon his grave, but the weather hath put it out.
1560 Bible (Geneva) Ecclus. xlv. 11 Precious stones..set in golde..with a writing grauen after the nomber of the tribes of Israel.
1623 H. Cockeram Eng. Dict. ii Writings on Tombes, epitaphes.
b. In singular and plural. Words, letters, etc., embodied in written form; written lettering.
Π
a1400 (c1303) R. Mannyng Handlyng Synne (Harl.) l. 9294 He so moche sorow hadde, As hys wrytyng was alle to-fade.
1598 J. Florio Worlde of Wordes Rubrica,..red writing.
1683 R. D. Hist. Observ. State of Turkey iii. 83 Paper..filled with Writing.
1728 E. Chambers Cycl. (at cited word) J. Ravenau..shews how to revive and restore old Writings almost effaced.
1787 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 77 451 A new Method of recovering the Legibility of decayed Writings.
1836 C. Dickens Sketches by Boz 1st Ser. I. 182 The writing looked like a skein of thread in a tangle.
a1884 E. H. Knight Pract. Dict. Mech. Suppl. 957 For restoring faded writing. Brush it over with a solution of ammonium sulphide.
1899 J. Wardle Universal Typewriter Man. 14 Regulating the width between the lines of writing.
1937 Eerie Stories Aug. 56/2 There was writing in the sand. Big letters carefully traced, evidently with a heavy stick.
2014 I. McEwan Children Act iii. 99 Spread about him on the sheets..were books, pamphlets.., a notebook and many lined pages covered in writing.
12.
a. Law. A written document with legal force or validity; a deed, bond agreement, contract, etc.; spec. †a document containing or relating to a marriage contract or settlement (obsolete). Now chiefly North American.
ΘΚΠ
society > law > legal document > [noun]
writlOE
charterc1270
writingc1384
paper1389
monument1405
instrument1426
cartec1449
chart1616
diploma1645
diplome1669
expedition1685
law-writings1701
chirograph1844
c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) Coloss. ii. 14 Doynge awey that wryting [L. chirografum] of decree, or dom, that was aȝens ȝou.
1415 in E. F. Jacob & H. C. Johnson Reg. Henry Chichele (1937) II. 47 (MED) My will..is declared in þis forsaid writynge.
1448 in S. A. Moore Lett. & Papers J. Shillingford (1871) 66 If any suche writyng were knowe and proved by my seide Lorde and the other arbitrous.
1520 in J. L. Glasscock Rec. St. Michael's, Bishop's Stortford (1882) 37 P[ai]d for makyng the wrytynges bytwene the parisshe and the belfounder.
1592–3 in S. Barfield Thatcham & its Manors (1901) II. 103 Pd. for two locks for the chest wher the wrightings are kept.
1631 T. Heywood Fair Maid of West: 1st Pt. iii. 40 These writings are the evidence of Lands.
1668 C. Sedley Mulberry-garden ii. ii. 27 You do not lay the necessity of marrying Home enough to her:..our Counsel [might] Have been drawing the Writings.
1710 R. Steele Tatler No. 231. ⁋2 The Lawyers finished the Writings (in which..there was no Pin-Money) and they were married.
1754 J. Shebbeare Marriage Act I. xiv. 88 Perhaps your Lordship's Writings [= property-deeds] are in the Hands of those two Fellows.
1818 W. Cruise Digest Laws Eng. Real Prop. (ed. 2) I. 235 The Court ordered all deeds and writings..to be delivered up.
1840 W. M. Thackeray Shabby Genteel Story ix No writings at all were made, and the ceremony merely read through.
1893 Sir J. W. Chitty in Law Times Rep. 68 430/1 The statute..requires a deed in cases where formerly a mere writing would have sufficed.
1911 R. E. Kingsford Evid. & Pract. at Trials in Civil Cases 577 The borrower signed a memorandum..agreeing to execute a writing to enable the lenderto transfer or control the mortgages..deposited.
2005 S. Randolph et al. Author Law A–Z 335 A check endorsement may constitute a valid writing for the purpose of federal copyright law if the legend on the check confirms an agreement..made prior to the creation of the work.
b. writing of divorce (also divorcement): a written certificate given by a husband to a wife, announcing or formalizing the dissolution of their marriage in Mosaic or Islamic law.
ΘΚΠ
society > law > administration of justice > process, writ, warrant, or order > [noun] > writ
writa1400
write1516
writing of divorce1568
noverint1592
1568 Bible (Bishops') Matt. v. 31 Whosoeuer putteth away his wyfe, let hym geue her a wrytyng of diuorcement.
1693 S. Snowden Deo Ecclesiæ & Conscienti ergo 21 Moses for the hardness of the Jews Hearts, suffered a Writing of Divorce to be given, and the Wife to be put away.
2003 Jrnl. Indian Law Inst. 45 494 In the talaq al-bida, the divorce is effective from the moment of pronouncement or execution of the writing of divorce.
13. In plural: the musical works of a composer or group of composers. Also in earliest use in singular: a piece of written music; a musical score or part.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > music > piece of music > [noun]
workOE
musica1586
composure?1606
composition1667
writings1672
morceau1748
op.1784
piece1825
opusc1840
confection1844
number1865
oeuvre1889
1672 T. Salmon Vindic. Ess. Advancem. Musick 61 The dividing of Musical Orthography into Octaves..that all the Notes, in all parts, may..give every Scholar a propriety in all sorts of Musick, that he may play from the writing of any instrument, as if it were his own.
1789 C. Burney Gen. Hist. Music III. 197 It appears from the writings of this..exquisite harmonist [sc. Palestrina], that he had..studied the greatest masters of his own time.
1834 Amer. Q. Rev. Mar. 93 Dr. Crotch..has composed..some pieces..for the piano forte.., and arranged several pieces for the same instrument, from the writings of Haydn, Mozart, Handel, Weber, [and] Romberg.
1868 Musical World 31 Oct. 743/1 That striving to be Beethoven, without the power to be anything like Beethoven, which is so frequent a characteristic of Schumann in his orchestral writings.
1914 H. M. Fitzgibbon Story of Flute xi. 129 This preference for the double-reed tone is also very marked in Bach's writings.
1966 L. C. Hurd & E. J. Savage First Experiences in Music vii. 109 Chorale, simple hymn tune often employed in the writings of the baroque composers.
2014 N.Y. Times (Nexis) 3 May (Late ed.) c6 A couple..perform a spare pas de deux of almost mathematical precision, set to five sections of Cage's 1944–46 writings for prepared piano.
14. In plural. Paper manufactured for writing on (as opposed to for printing or other purposes). Also occasionally in singular: a paper of this type. Cf. news n. Phrases 1b.
Π
1855 R. Herring Paper & Paper Making iii. 101 The drawings are cream wove, while the writings are laid.
1893 World's Paper Trade Rev. 30 June 22/1 A really good prepared transfer paper may be bought at the price of a hand-made writing.
1922 Handbk. Quality-standard Papers (Amer. Writing Paper Company) 9 Writings.—Suitable where appearance and pen writing are important factors or as a substitute for light-weight ledger, where strength is not a governing condition.
2009 Business Wire (Nexis) 8 Jan. The report has separate sections for each major type of..paper and board (newsprint, printings and writings, tissue,..and corrugating materials).
Phrases
P1.
a. the writing on the wall (with allusion to Daniel 5:5 and 25–28): (obvious) warning signs of impending disaster, misfortune, etc.; esp. clear indications of decline or imminent demise or destruction.
Π
1663 T. Lye Serm. xx. 49 in 2nd & Last Coll. London Ministers Farewel Serm. Now his knees begin to smite together, now the Writing on the Wall, now Faelix trembles; Oh! poor soul.
?1720 J. Swift Poet. Wks. (1736) 93 A baited Banker thus desponds, From his own Hand foresees his Fall; They have his Soul who have his Bonds; 'Tis like the Writing on the Wall.
1765 W. Stevenson Orig. Poems II. 201 So have we seen..His countenance in dumb amazement fall, When he beheld the writing on the wall.
1874 R. W. Buchanan Wandering Jew vii, in Compl. Poet. Wks. (1901) II. 221 No writing on the wall disturbed the feasts Of pathic Popes and lep'rous, lech'rous Priests!
1949 E. Coxhead Wind in West viii. 211 Just try to see the thing with..your famous detachment, and you'll soon recognise the writing on the wall. You've had your fling.
1978 Lancs. Life Mar. 50/1 I was a fool not to see the writing on the wall when textile machinery manufacturers were rushing all over the world erecting spinning and weaving machinery.
2002 ‘Mistress Chloe’ Dominatrix ii. 11 The house in which I first glimpsed the proverbial writing on the wall was just like any other in Hampstead.
b. the writing is on the wall (and variants): there are clear signs that something unpleasant or unwelcome is going to happen, decline is under way, or demise or destruction are imminent.
Π
1704 tr. Hist. Cardinal Portocarrero 155 Hold Portocarrero, the Hand-Writing is on the Wall, Time will discover thy Lewdness and Barbarity.]
1837 Courier 7 Jan. The writing was on the wall, and the Whigs, more learned than Belshazzar, would not require a Daniel to interpret it for them.
1863 Come Hither 131 In a.d. 1521, his troops having seized Parma and Piacensa he added them to the States of the Church, but whilst rejoicing in his triumphs, the ‘Writing was on the wall,’ and he died suddenly.
1965 Listener 2 Dec. 925/3 The 'eighties and 'nineties were the Golden Age [of music hall]; and in 1905 the writing was on the wall... Musical comedy, the cinema, television all hastened the decline.
2016 Courier (Dundee) 2 Jan. (Perth & Perthshire ed.) 41/1 The [Dundee] United chairman Stephen Thompson continued to back Jackie McNamara long after the writing was on the wall for him.
P2. In prepositional phrases, with reference to the time of writing (typically with writing modified by this), esp. at this (present, current) writing: at the current time, at the moment, as I write this.
ΘΠ
the world > time > relative time > the present (time) > [adverb] > up to the present time or up-to-date > at the time of writing this
at this (present, current) writing1439
1439 in L. Morsbach Mittelengl. Originalurkunden (1923) 18 (MED) At ye fest of whysondey next cumyng after yis wrytyng, and at ye fest of sent-marten next foloying ahalpeny, [etc.].
1602 W. S. True Chron. Hist. Ld. Cromwell sig. D Fellow William, I am not as I haue beene, I went from you a Smith, I write to you as a Lord: I am at this present writing, among the Polonyan Casiges.
1696 E. Harrison Idea Longitudinis v. 31 31 It is scarce one Year ago, (to this present writing,) since a Master of a —— Rate Ship told his Captain, that he observ'd 14 or 15 Deg. Variation about 6 Leagues off of Malhago by the Stars.
1718 Lady M. W. Montagu Let. 4 Jan. (1965) I. 371 I am at this present writing not very much turn'd for the recollection of what is diverting.
1832 J. P. Kennedy Swallow Barn (1860) 13 An account of all my doings up to this present writing.
1846 C. Mitchell Newsp. Press Direct. 77 The critical (musical) department..is at ‘this present writing’, to use an Irishism, nothing if not meagre.
1884 Cent. Mag. Jan. 433/2 It is at this writing given out that [etc.].
1926 Princeton Alumni Weekly 17 Mar. 596/3 Up to the current writing just 47.3958 plus per cent of the class members have cast votes in the present election of class officers.
2018 @JamesUrbaniak 12 May in twitter.com (accessed 1 Apr. 2021) This great tweet, sitting alone and as of this present writing liked only once since January, deserves the extra attention I can offer it at 2:16 am PST.
Compounds
C1.
a. As a modifier, designating implements or equipment used for writing, as writing apparatus, writing brush, writing fluid, writing implement, writing tool, etc.See also writing ink n., writing pen n.
Π
eOE Royal Psalter xliv. 2 Lingua mea calamus scribę uelociter scribentis : tunge min writingfeþer boceres [lOE Canterbury Psalter writingfeþere gewriteres] hrædlice writendes.
OE Old Eng. Martyrol. (Corpus Cambr. 196) (O.E.D. transcript) 13 Aug. (2013) 160 Hig hyne onslogon myd hyra writebredum, and hyne ofsticodon myd hyra writingisenum [OE Julius writeyrenum].
1585 J. Higgins tr. Junius Nomenclator 7/2 Graphium, a writing wyer.
1606 P. Holland tr. Suetonius Hist. Twelve Caesars 261 The sharp point of a bodkin or writing steele.
1663 A. Wood Life & Times (1891) I. 501 A pair of writing gloves, 1s.
1800 M. Koops Hist. Acc. Inv. Paper 37 Charta Augusta..being too thin for the writing-cane.
1809 B. H. Malkin tr. A. R. Le Sage Adventures Gil Blas III. viii. vi. 278 That minister..made me take my writing apparatus.
1819 Patents (1869) 21 A machine..which I denominate the penographic or writing instrument.
1825 W. Scott Talisman viii, in Tales Crusaders IV. 165 Give him writing-tools.
1840 Patents (1869) 56 Ink or writing fluids.
1854 C. Dickens Hard Times ii. i. 134 Mrs. Sparsit was conscious that by coming in the evening-tide among the desks and writing implements, she shed a feminine..grace.
1921 H. E. Palmer Princ. Lang.-study vii. 85 Suppose we wish to make Chinese characters with a native writing-brush.
2021 Star (Sheffield) (Nexis) 31 Mar. Rules about uniform, jewellery, footwear, PE kit, exercise books, writing equipment and so on often prove a stumbling block.
b.
writing dust n. rare (historical in later use) sand, pounce (pounce n.3 1) or another powdery substance used to dry wet ink after writing; cf. writing sand n.Apparently an isolated use in quot. 1646, on which later historical references depend.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > writing > writing materials > other writing equipment > [noun] > materials for blotting
blotting-paper1519
pin-dust1561
blotter1591
blotting-book1598
writing dust1646
writing sand1656
sucking-papera1665
pounce1704
sand1753
blotting-pad1857
blotting1872
roller1875
1646 Sir T. Browne Pseudodoxia Epidemica 69 The shining or glassie powder brought from the Indies, and usually implyed [i.e. employed] in writing dust . View more context for this quotation
1962 Bulletin (L.A. Museum of Art) 15 13 For want of it [sc. blotting paper], you sprinkled fine blotting-sand or ‘writing dust’ over the wet ink on your paper.
writing sand n. now historical sand or a similar powdery substance used to dry wet ink after writing; fine sand of a type suitable to used in this way.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > writing > writing materials > other writing equipment > [noun] > materials for blotting
blotting-paper1519
pin-dust1561
blotter1591
blotting-book1598
writing dust1646
writing sand1656
sucking-papera1665
pounce1704
sand1753
blotting-pad1857
blotting1872
roller1875
1656 Knowl. & Ordering Wines 377 in Skilful Physician Take halfe a quarter of a pound of white Starch, and about a quart of small writing sand, and a pint of Ising glasse.
1750 R. Heath Nat. & Hist. Acct. Scilly 57 [A bay] where the Beach..is covered with an exceeding fine Writing Sand.
1803 C. Hatchett in Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 93 174 Fine white writing-sand.
1854 Sc. Guardian 10 Oct. Micaceous sand, resembling gold dust, and so fine as to surpass the most beautiful writing sand sold by stationers.
1872 W. Crookes tr. R. von Wagner Handbk. Chem. Technol. iii. 336 The fibrous gypsum is sometimes used for writing sand, as a substitute for pounce, &c.
2001 J. Nickell in H. Crafts Bondwoman's Narr. (2002) 298 I searched in vain for any use of blotting paper, instead discovering a few instances of the use of writing sand.
C2.
a. In general use as a modifier, with the sense ‘of, for, or relating to writing’, as , writing course, writing exercise, writing lesson, writing-speed, writing system, writing terms, writing work.
Π
1429 in Norfolk Archaeol. (1904) 15 154 (MED) iij lod of corn to Jowbell..qwych he kepyth in partie of payment for wrytyng werke.
1582 R. Mulcaster 1st Pt. Elementarie Peroration 234 The platting of this my writing course.
1788 W. Cowper Wks. (1837) XV. 205 My writing-time is expended.
1820 Morning Post 21 Feb. (advt.) Poems, History of Writing System, and Essay on Short-hand.—Weekly Lectures.
1841 C. Dickens Old Curiosity Shop i. iii. 89 Preparations for giving Kit a writing lesson.
1857 W. Collins Dead Secret I. ii. ii. 83 The two were not..on speaking, or even on writing terms.
1875 E. A. Davidson House-painting 206 What is called the Script or writing character, the most elegant of all.
1946 H. P. Maynard in W. S. Knickerbocker 20th Cent. Eng. 188 One of the most important skills is that of writing-speed.
1953 C. F. Hockett in S. Saporta & J. R. Bastian Psycholinguistics (1961) 58/1 In devising a writing-system one can..eliminate a symbol needed earlier.
1980 Eng. World-wide 1 i. 20 Almost all Native American writing systems developed..for bilingual education purposes utilize writing systems similar to English.
2011 J. Gleick Information ii. 33 An intermediate stage is the syllabary, a phonetic writing system using individual characters to represent syllables, which may or may not be meaningful.
b. As a modifier, with the sense ‘engaged for or employed in writing’, as writing class, writing clerk, writing hand.
Π
1575 W. Patten Cal. Script. f. 169 Sephar, A rehearsall. A book. Trumpeting. A wryting Clerk. A number.
1772 J. Wedgwood Let. 28 Sept. in Sel. Lett. (1965) 136 What were all the rest of the Writing Clerks doing not to observe this.
1816 W. Scott Antiquary I. vi. 126 My lawyer['s]..writing-clerk (habited as a sharp-shooter) walked to and fro before his door.
1862 Internat. Exhib.: Illustr. Catal. Industr. Dept. II. xiii. §2867 Saving the cost of a writing clerk.
1896 Harper's Mag. June 17 If he ever puts me into one of his books I'll..amputate his writing-hand.
1899 S. R. Crockett Kit Kennedy 79 The writing-classes joggled each others' arms and elbows.
1913 State of N.Y. Hosp. Bull. 6 383 Very bright in school.., efficient in his work as writing clerk and bookkeeper being very accurate in his accounts.
c. As a modifier, with the sense ‘of or relating to the composition and setting down of written work, esp. literary production or musical composition, professional authorship, etc.’, as in writing career, writing process, writing talent, etc.
ΚΠ
1675 A. Marvell Let. 13 May in Poems & Lett. (1971) II. 155 Hauing been always on writing nights in an hurry.
1768 O. Goldsmith Good Natur'd Man Epil. 75 My writing days are over.
1805 W. Scott Let. 12 Apr. (1932) I. 248 I shall hold myself well paid on the writing hand.
1843 To Reader in O. Bacheler Restoration & Conversion Jews 3 The publishers of the following work..deem it proper to say a few words respecting the writing talents and qualifications of the author.
1900 Vassar Misc. Mar. 357 The theory of composition teaching has been completely reconstructed by shifting the emphasis from the writing-product to the writing-process.
1938 Illustr. London News 12 Feb. 252/3 He [sc. W. Somerset Maugham] is illuminating on the writing profession and melancholy about love.
1973 T. Williams MS 8 May in Five O'Clock Angel (1991) 291 I feel like my writing career is washed up.
1989 Psychol. Today Sept. 69/2 What better way to improve writing skills than to work for a nit-picking editor-in-chief of a big-city newspaper?
1994 Independent on Sunday 11 Dec. (Review Suppl.) 32/4 Their beguiling blend of classic songcraft and eerie studio atmospherics grew out of a tortuous writing process.
2006 New Yorker 5 June 66/3 She started her writing career..as a beat reporter for a Florentine newspaper.
C3.
a. As a modifier, designating a piece of furniture used for writing, esp. (part of) one which provides a flat surface upon which writing may be carried out, as writing chair, writing ledge, writing slope.See also writing board n., writing box n., writing desk n., writing table n. 2.
Π
Promptorium Parvulorum (Harl. 221) 534 Wrytynge borde, pluteum.
1483 Catholicon Anglicum (BL Add. 89074) (1881) 425 A Wrytynge chare, epicaustorium.
1855 Patents (1869) 179 [The cover] which forms the continuation of the writing slope.
1902 How to Make Things 53/1 The construction of the writing ledge.
2019 Irish Times (Nexis) 26 Nov. (Features section) 10 Adding a wedge-shaped cushion to the chair and a writing slope to the desk are effective measures to..avoid bending of the spine.
b.
writing bed n. chiefly North American (now rare) a board or level surface for writing on, esp. one forming part of a desk, writing table, etc.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > writing > writing materials > material to write on > other materials for writing on > [noun]
sand-table1812
ostracon1853
writing bed1891
sand-tray1893
1891 Decorator & Furnisher Aug. 165/2 Each desk has a hardwood writing bed, sliding pigeon-hole fronts with white silicate labels attached for pencil marking..etc.
1911 Daily Colonist (Victoria, Brit. Columbia) 14 Apr. 3/5 (advt.) Writing Desks. Just the thing for the home, nicely finished in Imperial Golden Oak, large writing bed with enclosed pigeon holes for papers.
1971 New Yorker 8 May 3 Open, it's a sewing table. Closed, it's a writing bed..a fine mahogany Sheraton.
1987 Leader-Times (Kittanning, Pa.) 10 Dec. 7/2 The flat working area [of a rolltop desk] was known as the writing bed and it varied from about 30 to 44 inches deep.
writing cabinet n. a piece of furniture in which a writing desk (esp. one that folds down or slides out when in use) is combined with drawers and shelves to hold stationery, documents, etc.; (sometimes) the upper part of such a piece of furniture, housing the desk or writing surface, pigeonholes, small drawers, etc.
ΘΠ
society > communication > writing > writing materials > other writing equipment > [noun] > writing cabinet
writing cabinet1803
mailbox1819
1803 T. Sheraton Cabinet Dict. 303 Scrutoir, an old word for what we now term a secretary, or writing cabinet.
1819 Daily National Intelligencer (Washington) 27 Apr. (advt.) In front of the rooms, at 1 o'clock 6 elegant mahogany bureaus; 2 sideboards; 1 writing cabinet; 4 breakfast and card tables; and a variety of other articles.
1851 Official Descriptive & Illustr. Catal. Great Exhib. III. 758 Monocleid writing cabinet... The whole of the drawers, closets, and partitions may be opened by one lock.
1955 R. Fastnedge Eng. Furnit. Styles iii. 87 Small walnut and marquetry fall-front writing cabinets on chests of drawers or stands.
2003 Country Life 30 Jan. 76/1 The writing cabinet shown here..probably began its strange and eventful life in late-17th-century Holland.
writing case n. a portable case for holding writing materials and paper, and typically providing a desk or surface to write upon.
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society > communication > writing > writing materials > other writing equipment > [noun] > writing-case
scriptor1474
writing box1474
writing desk1743
writing case1778
letterbox1784
lap desk1937
society > communication > writing > writing materials > other writing equipment > [noun] > writing-case > portable case with writing surface
writing case1778
1778 Morning Chron. 31 Oct. Ladies and Gentlemens Dressing and Writing Cases, plain Travelling Cases, Mahogany Wine Cellars, Surgeons Dispensaries, [etc.].
1813 M. Edgeworth Let. 19 Apr. (1971) 25 Mrs. Sneyd and Emma have given me a most convenient red morocco writing case.
1853 Arab. Nights (Rtldg.) 253 He drew from a little writing-case..some paper, a cut cane, and an ink-horn.
1858 T. Carlyle Hist. Friedrich II of Prussia II. vii. iv. 209 Crown-Prince has given him in keeping a writing-case with private letters.
1999 Christmas at WHSmith Catal. 61/1 This bonded leather writing case comes with premium quality ‘laid’ writing paper and envelopes.
writing slider n. a sliding board or shelf incorporated into a cabinet, chest of drawers, table, etc., which may be pulled out to provide a level surface for writing on.
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society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > furniture and fittings > chest of drawers > [noun] > sliding shelf in
writing slider1803
1803 T. Sheraton Cabinet Dict. 261 The top drawer [of a lobby chest] is usually divided into two; and sometimes there is a writing slider which draws out under the top.
1969 J. Gloag Short Dict. Furnit. (rev. ed.) 731 Writing slider, a sliding shelf, made to draw out beneath the top of a chest of drawers.
2018 @mdoyleantiques 11 Aug. in twitter.com (accessed 8 Apr. 2021) Unique Mid-Century Italian Painted Harlequin Table. Three drawers with pull out writing slider.
writing standish n. now historical and rare a (desktop or tabletop) stand for holding pens, ink, and other writing equipment; cf. standish n. 1.
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society > communication > writing > writing materials > other writing equipment > [noun] > writing stand
standisha1350
writing standish1703
ink-standishc1730
inkstand1773
loggerhead1904
suzuribako1967
1703 Inventory Estate Duchess of Richmond & Lennox in Lancaster Gaz. (1892) 9 July The Garter robes compleate ffour leather trunks a small piece of fflannell thirty lb of chocolatt A writeing standish.
1834 Durham Advertiser 30 May On Tuesday last, the young gentlemen of Mr Campbell's school..presented him with a very elegant writing standish, together wuth a silver pen and other appendages.
1903 Burlington Mag. Apr. 20/1 On March 16 Messrs. Puttick made £50 of a writing-standish.
1964 C. Deelman Great Shakespeare Jubilee ii. 50 Records are to be found listing cups and goblets.., tooth pick cases, writing standishes, ink-horns and pen cases [said to have been made from wood from Shakespeare's mulberry tree].
C4. As a modifier, designating materials used or made to be written on, as writing cloth, writing material, writing slate. Cf. sense 14.See also writing book n., writing pad n. 2, writing paper n., writing tablet n.
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1477 Inventory in J. P. Earwaker Lancs. & Cheshire Wills (1884) 3 Half a Reem..wrytyng paper price, xxd.
1800 M. Koops Hist. Acc. Inv. Paper 33 These writing-materials were not in general use.
1809 R. Langford Introd. Trade 63 2 [Reams] Writing Royal.
1851 Official Descriptive & Illustr. Catal. Great Exhib. III. 540 Dowse's patent tracing and writing cloth.
1875 E. H. Knight Amer. Mech. Dict. III. 2477/2 Table, a tablet..[or] writing-surface.
1888 J. W. Burgon Lives Twelve Good Men II. v. 36 To get out his writing materials, and to scribble.
C5. Chiefly Scottish. As a modifier, designating a room, building, etc., in which clerical, administrative, or esp. legal work involving written documents is carried out.† writing booth n. Obsolete† writing chamber n. Obsolete† writing house n. Obsolete
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society > communication > writing > writing materials > other writing equipment > [noun] > room or chamber for writing
writing chamber1563
writing booth1568
writing house1597
writing-room1670
society > communication > writing > writing materials > other writing equipment > [noun] > room or chamber for writing > booth or stall where writing is transacted
writing booth1568
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > parts of building > room > room by type of use > [noun] > writing room
scriptorya1500
writing chamber1563
writing booth1568
writing house1597
writing-room1670
scriptorium1828
scrivenery1895
1568 Accts. Treasurer Scotl. in Dict. Older Sc. Tongue at Writin(g Thomas Sinclairis writting buith.
1597 in J. Stuart Extracts Council Reg. Aberdeen (1848) II. 121 Ane hous..to be ane vreting buyth to..thair servitour and clerk.
1609 in Hist. Writers to Signet (1890) p. xlvii All wrytteris to the signet are..bothe..in the streittis and in thair wreitting boathe, to wear..a gowne.
1898 Wide World Mag. July 448 (caption) Public writing booths [sc. the booths of the public scribes] in Barcelona.
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society > communication > writing > writing materials > other writing equipment > [noun] > room or chamber for writing
writing chamber1563
writing booth1568
writing house1597
writing-room1670
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > parts of building > room > room by type of use > [noun] > writing room
scriptorya1500
writing chamber1563
writing booth1568
writing house1597
writing-room1670
scriptorium1828
scrivenery1895
1563 Instructionis to Commissaris of Edinb. (Edinb. La.III 388a) f. 28 The clerk alwayis finding paper Ink wax and writtin chalmer.
1618 in Hist. Writers to Signet (1890) p. xliii The wryting chalmer of Adame Lawtie.
1708 J. Spottiswoode Introd. Stile of Writs Pref. I did draw out of my Collections I had made, while in a Writing-Chamber,..such [etc.].
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society > communication > writing > writing materials > other writing equipment > [noun] > room or chamber for writing
writing chamber1563
writing booth1568
writing house1597
writing-room1670
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > parts of building > room > room by type of use > [noun] > writing room
scriptorya1500
writing chamber1563
writing booth1568
writing house1597
writing-room1670
scriptorium1828
scrivenery1895
1597 in J. Stuart Extracts Council Reg. Aberdeen (1848) II. 153 The wreitting hous for the clerk of this burght.
1598 J. Florio Worlde of Wordes Scrittoio,..a counting house or writing house.
C6. As a modifier, designating a device used to produce a written or typed document, or to reproduce or copy such a document, as writing engine, writing machine, etc.
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1695 Athenian Mercury 9 Apr. The Writing Engine, for taking several Copies of the same thing at once.
1705 J. Dunton Life & Errors iv. 239 [Ridpath] invented The Polygraphy, or Writing Engin.
1878 Brit. Trade Jrnl. 2 Dec. 630/1 It is claimed that the writing ball possesses many advantages over the ordinary method of writing with a pen. The writing is easy to read,..and as many as ten copies made at once.
1895 W. M. Morrill in Amer. Electr. Cases 2 449 Cowper's writing telegraph has lately been invented, the nature of which is that a person holding a pen at one end of the wire can write or even draw with it, and..a fac-simile is produced by a corresponding pen..at the other end of the wire.
1936 Coleman (Alberta) Jrnl. 22 Oct. 8/3 (advert.) The improved Remington-Rand Portable Typewriters are without question the finest value and most durable writing machines made.
2017 Courier-Jrnl. (Louisville, Kentucky) in courier-journal.com 5 May (accessed 20 July 2021) Hard to believe that the writing device that I began my career on almost four decades ago is now a ‘rare, vintage antique’.
C7. † writing type n. Obsolete rare a typeface which imitates the appearance of (cursive) handwriting; a script type (see script adj. 1a).
writing diamond n. a diamond-tipped tool used esp. for cutting glass; cf. diamond n. 4.
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society > occupation and work > equipment > glass-making equipment > [noun] > cutting equipment
grozier1404
grozing-iron1688
diamond1697
writing diamond1813
pencil diamond1837
1813 in F. Accum Elements Crystallogr. 395 (advt.) Copper Deflagerating Ladles—Writing Diamonds—Masks, to defend the Eye against Accidents in Chemical Operations.
1827 M. Faraday Chem. Manip. iii. 71 Fragments of diamond..set in handles..are called scratching or writing diamonds.
1917 C. E. Waters Compar. Tests Porcelain Lab. Ware (Technol. Papers U.S. Bureau of Standards No. 105) 2 Each piece was roughly weighed and, after having been arranged in the order of its weight, was lightly marked near the rim by means of a writing diamond.
2008 T. D. Allen Introd. Electron Microsc. Biologists xx. 396 It is helpful to mark the position of the envelope by circling the area with a writing diamond.
writing-frame n. a frame with guides designed to help a blind or partially-sighted person in writing; cf. noctograph n.
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society > communication > writing > writing materials > other writing equipment > [noun] > guide for blind or partially-sighted writers
chiragon1832
writing-frame1848
cecograph1851
noctograph1864
typhlograph1891
1848 Norfolk News 29 July (advt.) Farnell's writing gradations, writing frame..&c. a simple but quick, infallible, and cheap method of teaching all persons good writing.
1875 E. H. Knight Amer. Mech. Dict. III. 2823/1 Writing-frames for the blind.
1952 E. B. Garside tr. C. W. Ceram Gods, Graves, & Scholars iv. xxiii. 351 Prescott was bent over a special writing-frame made for the blind and near-blind, the so-called noctograph, invented by a certain Wedgewood.
2017 @Sneakykiwe 6 Jan. in twitter.com (accessed 7 Apr. 2021) Where in lsk can I buy a stylus and sketch board/writing frame for blind people?
writing hand n. (a) the hand with which a person usually writes, esp. the right hand; †(b) Medicine a position of the hand resembling that assumed when holding a pen, thought to be characteristic of Parkinson's disease (obsolete).
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1651 E. Hall Manus Testium Movens 34 Th[e] right hand is the writing hand, now with that they must give a marke.
1720 Answer to Whimsical Pamphlet 11 You ought to have..your impious Tongue cut out, and thy writing Hand be baked in my Oven when it is hottest.
1877 G. Sigerson tr. J. M. Charcot Lect. Dis. Nerv. Syst. v. 141 (caption) The writing hand. Habitual attitude of the hand at a somewhat advanced stage of paralysis agitans.
1921 M. Keschner in F. Tice et al. Pract. Med. X. 516 The hand may assume a position similar to that in which a pen is held (Charcot's writing hand).
2007 New Yorker 10 Dec. 58/3 My father sat in his favorite yellow chair, writing hand atrophied by some mystery plague, mind afield in a pharmaceutical fog.
writing-room n. a room in which writing is done, esp. a one set aside for this purpose.
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society > communication > writing > writing materials > other writing equipment > [noun] > room or chamber for writing
writing chamber1563
writing booth1568
writing house1597
writing-room1670
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > parts of building > room > room by type of use > [noun] > writing room
scriptorya1500
writing chamber1563
writing booth1568
writing house1597
writing-room1670
scriptorium1828
scrivenery1895
1670 J. Beale Let. 3 Jan. in H. Oldenburg Corr. (1969) VI. 403 In a little Writing-room, in the second row of Buildings.
1825 T. D. Fosbroke Encycl. Antiq. I. vi. 108 Monasteries had..Museums, Scriptoria, or writing-rooms.
1848 W. M. Thackeray Pendennis (1850) I. i. 5 The adjoining writing-room.
2004 N.Y. Times (National ed.) 22 Feb. ii. 13/3 He plans on staying in both theater and television. ‘I'm a multitasker,’ he said in the writing room he rents near Times Square.
writing speed n. now chiefly historical (a) Electronics the maximum speed at which an electron beam can scan the screen of a cathode-ray tube and its path still be recorded (either by the excitation of phosphors or as an image on photographic film); (b) (in audio and video tape recording) the effective speed of the tape past a head when the rotation of the head is taken into account.
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society > communication > record > recording or reproducing sound or visual material > production or use of video recording > [noun] > video recorder or player > speed of videotape past head
writing speed1932
the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electronics > electronic devices or components > cathode-ray tube > [noun] > cathode ray > maximum speed of
writing speed1932
1932 Jrnl. Inst. Electr. Engineers 71 71/2 I should like to say that for us the distinguishing and only valuable characteristic associated with oscillographs is their maximum writing speed.
1960 Philips Techn. Rev. 4 Nov. 1/1 If the recording head is stationary, as it always is in sound recording, the writing speed is the linear speed of the tape past the head.
1981 I. Hickman Oscilloscopes vii. 95 Writing speed is defined as the maximum speed at which a spot, passing once across the tube face, can be photographed under specified conditions.
1984 What Video? Aug. 24/1 The soundtrack was being recorded at a writing speed of 580 cm per second—that's over 15 times the speed of professional studio recordings.
1998 G. R. Capelo & R. C. Brenner VCR Troubleshooting & Repair (ed. 3) 129/1 This head-to-tape relationship is called writing speed.
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society > communication > printing > types, blocks, or plates > relating to type > style of type > [noun] > type face or font > script type
writing type1815
ronde1825
1815 J. Scott Visit to Paris App. p. xli Writing types, by Henry Didot; a kind of letter which is much used in France.
C8. With adverbs, forming nouns of action corresponding to the phrasal verbs at write v. Phrasal verbs, as in writing down, writing out, writing up, etc.
a. In various general senes.
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1657 Devils Cabinet broke Open 37 My own thoughts prompt me on readily to set a helping hand to the writing out of so eminent an evill, as that practised by such as make a trade of sin.
1790 Public Advertiser 7 Aug. The improvement is, the writing up the names of the several towns and villages on the first and last houses of each.
1790 World 23 Sept. The reflection that naturally springs from this consideration, is too obvious to require the writing down.
1898 J. Taylor tr. E. Kautzsch Hist. Lit. Old Test. 10 The writing out of the products of those earlier days.
1900 Westm. Gaz. 22 Nov. 9/2 [The] music-hall agents..said that due notice of ‘writing in’ was given.
1901 Westm. Gaz. 28 June 11/1 Its sister in misfortune..dare not face the writing-off stage yet.
1904 Westm. Gaz. 9 Feb. 4/2 The ‘writing-out’ process from which most popular authors suffer.
1951 E. E. Evans-Pritchard Social Anthropol. v. 88 In this writing-up side of his work the social anthropologist faces a serious difficulty.
1960 Guardian 24 June 10/7 Simplification without ‘writing down’ can serve a good purpose.
2021 Times 15 Feb. 18 Dr Nash said he was against punishments such as the memorizing of poetry, the writing out of Latin verse, and extra school work.
b.
(a) In financial contexts, with back, down, off, and up, now chiefly denoting various accountancy actions, process, or adjustments expressed by the underlying phrasal verb.See to write back 2 at write v. Phrasal verbs, to write down 5 at write v. Phrasal verbs, to write off 1b at write v. Phrasal verbs, to write up 7 at write v. Phrasal verbs; cf. write-back n., writedown n., write-off n. 2, write-up n. 2.
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society > trade and finance > management of money > keeping accounts > [noun] > specific processes
allowance1528
allocation1535
writing1732
liquidating1749
set-off1766
write-back1873
whack1885
clear-up1901
virement1902
accrual accounting1915
writedown1920
accruals accounting1963
cookie jar1975
1732 Daily Courant 3 July They do now give Notice, That in order to the Writing off from every Proprietor's Account of Stock the 6 1 4th per Cent. which, by the Act of the last Sessions of Parliament, is annihilated from the 24th of June last [etc.].
1897 Westm. Gaz. 28 Dec. 6/3 Some scheme for the writing down of capital.
1912 Times 19 Dec. 18/5 The scheme provided for the writing off of capital liabilities.
1927 Daily Tel. 14 June 3/2 Last year's realised profits, less writings off, was £12,343 higher.
2001 Jrnl. Econ. Issues 35 425 There were no national standards for separate headings on accounts, for the paying in of capital, or the writing up of assets.
2005 Fairlady (Cape Town) Feb. 141/3 Amortisation is the gradual writing off of a debt like a bond through regular payment over a specified period of time.
2016 Herald (Glasgow) (Nexis) 6 Feb. 24 It was unable to give any more detail on the exceptionals or the split of its business, but said a writing-down of the value of coal stocks had played a part.
(b)
writing down allowance n. British Finance and Accounting a tax allowance granted to businesses, whereby the value of new assets (such as plant, equipment, or machinery) may be added to the written-down value (written-down value n. at written adj. and n. Compounds 2b(b)) of assets acquired in previous years, and a certain percentage of the total value (representing depreciation in value of the newly acquired assets) is claimed.
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1922 Hist. Ministry of Munitions III. iii. iv. 89 In one case the committee recommended a 16⅔ per cent. higher writing-down allowance on buildings and a 13½ per cent. higher allowance on machinery.
1984 M. P. Devereux & C. P. Mayer Corporation Tax 5 The system which was introduced—one based on historic cost profits, gross of depreciation, and with a limited class of writing down allowances—is not a new one.
2015 Sunday Times 17 May (Business section) 10/7 Cars with higher emissions receive an 18% or 8% annual writing-down allowance on the cost, depending on their published emissions values.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2021; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
writingadj.
/ˈrʌɪtɪŋ/, U.S. /ˈraɪdɪŋ/ 1. Engaged in writing; inclined to write; that writes regularly, habitually, or as an occupation.
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society > communication > writing > [adjective] > engaged in or disposed to writing
writing1594
quill-driving1707
writative1736
1594 J. Stockwood tr. L. Daneau Fruitfull Comm. Twelue Small Prophets (Nahum ii. 10) 716 Such a signe of feare was in Belshazzar at the sight of the writing hand vpon the wall.
1599 W. Shakespeare Romeo & Juliet i. ii. 41 What names the writing person hath here writ. View more context for this quotation
1726 D. Defoe Mere Nature Delineated iii. 84 The reading Fools are the worst Fools of the Age, except the writing Fools.
1847 C. Dickens Dombey & Son (1848) xxiv. 242 Do you take any interest in writing people, or in painting or sculpturing people?
1903 tr. H. Wölfflin Art Ital. Renaissance iv. 97 The writing boy..sits bending over his work.
1999 D. Wykes E. Waugh i. 17 Waugh had been a writing child; he wrote stories..and as he grew older he kept a diary.
2005 Y. Ryu tr. L. Namho et al. Twentieth Cent. Korean Lit. 28 In the works..we can observe..attempts to delve into the psychological interior of the writing poet.
2. With preceding noun. That writes something specified; esp. that writes a particular type of text or produces works in a particular genre or language.
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1603 N. Deeble in J. Davies Microcosmos sig. Oo3 Could any Hand the graver so commaund, As can, the penne, his wonder-writing Hand.
1691 T. Brown Novus Reformator Vapulans Pref. sig. A3v A Man..would no more suspect..that..any of the Modern Play-writing Actors are acquainted with Aristotle's Criticisms upon Poetry.
1758 J. Upton in E. Spenser Faerie Queene II. 348/1 That poetical and elegant romance writer, who was studied by all the romance writing poets.
1837 T. Hook Jack Brag III. vi. 257 She's over head and ears..with a sort of a poetry-writing chap called Selwyn.
1884 Princeton Rev. July 86 Mr. James..deserves to-day to be called the first of English-writing novelists.
1950 N.Y. Times Bk. Rev. 19 Nov. 29/3 Four tales..by a French-writing Swiss scientist and man of letters.
1995 D. Damrosch We Scholars 3 Jargon-writing academic specialists.
2014 L. McBride We are called to Rise (2015) v. 34 My family isn't the letter-writing type.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2021).
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n.eOE
adj.1594