writev.

Brit.

/rʌɪt/, U.S.

/raɪt/

Inflections: Past tense wrote Brit.

/rəʊt/, U.S.

/roʊt/; past participle written Brit.

/ˈrɪtn/, U.S.

/ˈrɪtn/, (in Phrases 3a) writ Brit.

/rɪt/, U.S.

/rɪt/;

Forms: 1. Present stem. a.

α. Old English writan, Old English wrytan, early Middle English writenn ( Ormulum), Middle English whryte, Middle English wrict, Middle English wrighte, Middle English wrijte, Middle English writh, Middle English writhe, Middle English wrygt, Middle English wryȝt, Middle English wryȝte, Middle English wrygth, Middle English wryth, Middle English wrythe, Middle English–1500s wryght, Middle English–1600s wright, Middle English–1600s wryte, Middle English– write, 1500s writen (infinitive, archaic), 1500s wryghte, 1800s wroite (English regional (northern)); Scottish pre-1700 vrict, pre-1700 vriht, pre-1700 worite, pre-1700 wriet, pre-1700 wright, pre-1700 wrycht, pre-1700 wryght, pre-1700 wryit, pre-1700 1700s wryte, pre-1700 1700s– write, 1800s–1900s vrite. eOE (Kentish) Will of Abba (Sawyer 1482) in N. P. Brooks & S. E. Kelly Charters of Christ Church Canterbury, Pt. 2 (2013) 663 Ic Abba geroefa cyðe & writan hate hu min willa is þæt mon ymb min ærfe gedoe.c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) Ded. l. 109 Forr he ne maȝȝ nohht elless. Onn ennglissh writenn rihht te word.c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) l. 14406 On feole bocken his nome me swa writeð.a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 648 Ne writer nan mai write..þe mikel ioy þat þam es lent.a1450 (c1375) G. Chaucer Anelida & Arcite (Tanner 346) (1878) l. 209 She gan hit write [c1475 Harl. 372 wryte, a1500 Harl. 7333 wreyte].1589 G. Peele Eglogue Gratulatorie B j b To writen sike praise.1673 in Jrnl. Friends' Hist. Soc. July (1914) 98 Thou should wright to her.1742 T. Gray Let. July in Corr. (1971) I. 215 My haveing at last found a Pen, that writes.1864 Ld. Tennyson Northern Farmer xv Summun I reckons 'ull 'a to wroite.1953 P. G. Wodehouse Performing Flea 69 She is going to find out about quarantine and then write me.2012 M. Constanzo & D. Krauss Forensic & Legal Psychol. iii. 54 The polygraph writes out many physiological responses to questions asked by an examiner.

β. Old English uritta (Northumbrian, in prefixed forms), Old English writta (Northumbrian, in prefixed forms), Middle English wrytt, Middle English–1500s wrytte, Middle English–1600s writ, Middle English–1600s writte, Middle English–1600s wryt, late Middle English–1700s writt; Scottish pre-1700 ritt, pre-1700 ryt, pre-1700 urit, pre-1700 vrit, pre-1700 vryt, pre-1700 weryt, pre-1700 woritte, pre-1700 writ, pre-1700 wryt, pre-1700 wrytte, pre-1700 1700s writt, pre-1700 1700s writte, pre-1700 1700s wrytt, 1700s uryt. OE (Northumbrian) Lindisf. Gospels: Matt. Pref. Omnia diligenter ex ordine tibi scribere : alle georne mið endebrednise ðe auritta.] a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 9898 Fairer..þan..ani clerc mai writ wit inc.1480 G. Cely Let. 24 Nov. in Cely Lett. (1975) 101 As of any tydyngys her Y con none wrytt yow as ȝett.c1500 (?a1437) Kingis Quair (1939) clxxxii Quhat nedis me..To writt all this??1616 W. Mure Misc. Poems xvi. 3 My barren muse..to wryt forbears.1704 Duke of Atholl Let. 18 July in P. H. Brown Lett. Scotl. Reign Queen Anne (1915) 137 I did myself the honour to writte..last week.

γ. Middle English wreyte, Middle English–1500s wrete, 1500s wrett, 1800s wreyt (English regional (northern); Scottish pre-1700 reatt, pre-1700 ureet, pre-1700 ureit, pre-1700 vreit, pre-1700 vreitt, pre-1700 wereatt, pre-1700 wreate, pre-1700 wreatte, pre-1700 wreet, pre-1700 wreit, pre-1700 wreitt, pre-1700 wrett, pre-1700 wrette, pre-1700 wreyt, pre-1700 1700s wreatt, pre-1700 1700s–1900s wreat, pre-1700 1800s vrett, pre-1700 1800s (1900s Shetland) wret, pre-1700 (1800s–1900s north-eastern) vret, 1800s vreyt (north-eastern), 1800s wireete, 1800s– vreet (north-eastern), 1900s reit. 1394 in R. W. Chambers & M. Daunt Bk. London Eng. (1931) 276 Þat poure Clerk þat hath serued xij ȝer & more..to wretene alle costeȝ þat were do in þe forseyte tyme with-inne þe fornemned maner.c1500 Makculloch MS in G. S. Stevenson Pieces from Makculloch & Gray MSS (1918) 28 Sarffo, as to wret.1536 A. Borde Let. 1 Apr. in Fyrst Bk. Introd. Knowl. (1870) 52 To wrett att theyr request.1603 in 10th Rep. Royal Comm. Hist. MSS (1885) App. i. 31 The man that teichis me to vret.1705 Earl of Seafield Let. 24 May in P. H. Brown Lett. Scotl. Reign Queen Anne (1915) 46 He layes it on me to wreat.1871 W. Alexander Johnny Gibb xlix. 332 Ye'll jist vreet aff at ance.1931 D. Campbell Uncle Andie 11 Gin ye ran half sae crookit as ye vreet, Dooglie, it's nae marvel ye joukit the boombs o' the Proosians ower in France.

δ. late Middle English whrayt; Scottish pre-1700 vrayt, pre-1700 wrait, pre-1700 wraite, pre-1700 wrayt, pre-1700 1800s vrait, 1800s weraet, 1900s– wraet (Shetland); U.S. regional 1900s– rat. 1482 R. Cely Let. 13 May in Cely Lett. (1975) 152 Sche has prayd me to whrayt to yow.1545 in W. Fraser Douglas Bk. (1885) IV. 156 Remember to vrayt one to the kingis hienes.c1625 in D. Forbes & C. Innes Acct. Familie Innes (1864) 213 He has saued me the labour of wraytting newes.1866 W. Gregor Dial. Banffshire (Philol. Soc.) 204 Vrait,..to write.1990 C. Amory Cat & Curmudgeon 193 This fella says he rats for it [sc. the New York Times], and he wants to rat about the ranch for it.

b. Also 3rd singular indicative. Old English–Middle English writ, Middle English writt, Middle English wryt. OE Ælfric Catholic Homilies: 2nd Ser. (Cambr. Gg.3.28) Pref. 2 Micel yfel deð se ðe leas writ.c1275 (?c1250) Owl & Nightingale (Calig.) (1935) l. 1756 Þar he demeþ manie riȝte dom, An diht & writ [a1300 Jesus Oxf. wryt] mani wisdom. ▸ a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) vii. l. 4560 The Philosophre..Writ and conseileth to a king.c1425 J. Lydgate Troyyes Bk. (Augustus A.iv) iv. l. 7002 In þe Sauter, where he writ expresse, And confermeth þer as he endites. 2. Past tense. a. Strong. (i). Originally 1st and 3rd singular indicative.

α. (chiefly northern and north-east midlands in later Middle English) Old English urat (Northumbrian, in prefixed forms), Old English (Northumbrian) early Middle English ( Ormulum) wratt, Old English–1500s wrat, Middle English wraite, Middle English wrayt, Middle English–1500s wratte, Middle English–1600s wrate; English regional (northern) 1800s wraat, 1800s wrat, 1900s wræat; Scottish pre-1700 vrait, pre-1700 wart, pre-1700 wraitt, pre-1700 wratte, pre-1700 wrayt, pre-1700 wrayte, pre-1700 wraytt, pre-1700 1700s– wrate, pre-1700 1800s wraite, pre-1700 (1800s–1900s north-eastern) vrat, pre-1700 1800s– wrait, pre-1700 1900s wrat, 1700s–1900s vrate (north-eastern), 1900s wraet. OE Royal Charter: Æðelbald of Mercia to Bp. Milred (Sawyer 98) in A. J. Robertson Anglo-Saxon Charters (1956) 2 Wilfrið biscop he hit wrat.a1225 MS Lamb. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 75 Ec of heom wrat..his uers.a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 21243 Þe godspel in itali he wratte [Fairf. wrate; rhyme smate].a1500 (c1425) Andrew of Wyntoun Oryg. Cron. Scotl. (Nero) vii. l. 1854 Þis Alexander..Wart [a1550 Wemyss Wrait] til Schir Mathow.a1586 Sir P. Sidney Arcadia (1593) iii. sig. Gg5^v Vpon a roote of the tree..she wrat this couplet.1620 T. Peyton Glasse of Time i. 51 That sweete Disciple which the Gospell wrate.1708 J. Falconar Let. 19 Sept. in T. Hearne Remarks & Coll. (1886) II. 130 I wrate once and again.1824 W. Carr Horæ Momenta Cravenæ Wraat,..wrote.1894 R. O. Heslop Northumberland Words 799 He wrat him a letter.1981 Eng. World-wide 2 i. 8 Yet thir thrie scrievers wrait guid feckfu Scots.

β. Middle English wroet, Middle English wroȝt, Middle English wroit, Middle English wrooth, Middle English wrothe, Middle English wrouȝte, Middle English 1600s wroot, Middle English–1500s wroote, Middle English–1600s wrott, Middle English–1600s wrotte, Middle English–1700s wrot, Middle English– wrote, late Middle English wort, 1500s wroght, 1500s wroott, 1500s wrout, 1500s wroute, 1500s–1600s wroat, 1500s–1600s wroate; Scottish pre-1700 worott, pre-1700 wroit, 1900s– wrott. Some instances of forms with ȝ, gh could alternatively be interpreted as showing the past tense of work v. (compare Forms 2α. at that entry).a1200 MS Trin. Cambr. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1873) 2nd Ser. 17 Elch of hem wrot [a1225 Lamb. wrat] his uers.?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 284 He..wrot wið hisachne blod Saluz to his leofmon.a1400 (c1303) R. Mannyng Handlyng Synne (Harl.) l. 9281 A fende..wrote alle þat euer þey spake.c1400 (c1378) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Laud 581) (1869) B. xix. l. 478 I awakned þere-with & wrote [c1400 Trin. Cambr. B.15.17 wroot, a1450 Bodl. 814 wroȝt, a1500 Oriel wrouȝte] as me mette.a1529 J. Skelton Ware the Hauke (1843) 223 I wroute a verse.?c1530 in H. Ellis Orig. Lett. Eng. Hist. (1846) 3rd Ser. III. 189 Sythe I last wroght to you.a1686 J. Gordon Hist. Scots Affairs (1841) I. 60 Dr. Walter Balcanqwell, who with the king's owne particular oversight worott that booke.1709 J. Strype Ann. Reformation 246 He wrot to..Cecil to release him.1842 in J. Bischoff Comprehensive Hist. Woollen Manuf. II. 318 He wrote to request my aid.2005 R. Hoban Come dance with Me xix. 112 Whammo! that's all she wrote.

γ. late Middle English–1600s (1800s– regional or nonstandard) write. Rare in Middle English and early modern English. The instances perhaps show transmission errors. ▸ c1454 R. Pecock Folewer to Donet 7 Þe book which y write in englisch.1582 R. Robinson tr. J. Leland Assertion of King Arthure (1925) 25 That Iohn which concerning Arthure write the golden historie.a1700 in Publ. Catholic Rec. Soc. (1911) 9 336 His Bookes, w[hi]ch she write out and faithfully practised.1882 Ballou's Monthly Mag. Aug. 146/1 Better 'n two years ago she write me she'd went takin' boarders fur the summer.2000 J. Lyons in C. Newland & K. Sesay IC3 12 She didn' write home bout longing fuh roti an curry-goat. No she write home bout how people looks could kill she.

δ. Scottish pre-1700 vreit, pre-1700 vrett, pre-1700 wreit, pre-1700 wreitt, pre-1700 wreott, pre-1700 wreyt, pre-1700 1700s wreat, pre-1700 1700s wrett, pre-1700 1800s– wret (now Shetland), 1700s urett, 1800s ret. c1500 in G. Goudie Celtic & Scand. Antiq. Shetland (1904) 172 The hand that wret it.1652 R. Burnet Let. 2 Aug. in J. Stuart Misc. Spalding Club (1841) I. 45 I wreitt lykewayes to my sone in law to assist him.1700 in W. Fraser Scotts of Buccleuch (1878) II. 374 Tarbat urett a bantring letter to me, and I wrett just such another to him.1891 J. J. H. Burgess Rasmie's Büddie 4 An I wret ta dee, Boy, da address wid be Hell.1979 J. J. Graham Shetland Dict. 99/2 Wret, wrote.

ε. 1500s wryt, 1500s wrytt, 1500s wrytte, 1500s–1600s writte, 1500s–1700s writt, 1500s– writ (now regional or nonstandard), 1600s ritt, 1900s rit (English regional); also Scottish pre-1700 wryt, pre-1700 1700s writt, pre-1700 1900s vrit, 1900s rit. 1539 in H. Ellis Orig. Lett. Eng. Hist. (1827) 2nd Ser. II. 152 Yowr Kyng wrytte agaynste Lwtther.1666 in 11th Rep. Royal Comm. Hist. MSS (1887) App. V. 14 I ritt wonce to you.1788 Trifler No. 12. 156 Authors (who writ in the Latin tongue).1852 W. M. Thackeray Henry Esmond II. i. 17 He writ back a letter.1985 Lakeland Dial. Sept. 15 Ah bleeve ivverything at he writ in his beuk.2001 C. Chinn & S. Thorne Proper Brummie 167 I writ it down last night, before I went to bed.

ζ. U.S. regional 1800s–1900s writen. 1862 C. M. Epperly Let. in Dict. Amer. Regional Eng. (online ed., accessed 3 Sept. 2021) (at cited word) Wee have bin on a long march sins I writen to you last.1927 in H. Wentworth Amer. Dial. Dict. (1944) at Written I writen you.

η. U.S. regional 1800s– written. 1884 J. A. Harrison Negro Eng. in Anglia 7 253 Pres. write—Past..written, writtened.1941 E. P. O'Donnell Great Big Doorstep 41 You mean to tell me you written that song, Shoepick?2011 J. M. Rusin Long Silky Blonde Girl 45 After I written Gary book, so I got different idea and I written my second book.

θ. U.S. regional 1900s– wroten ((in African-American usage)). 1976 A. Tyler Searching for Caleb 236 Mr. Caleb wroten it down on a piece of paper.

(ii). Plural.

α. Old English wriotan (in prefixed forms), Old English writton (Northumbrian, in prefixed forms), Old English wryton (in prefixed forms), Old English wuritun (Northumbrian, in prefixed forms), Old English–early Middle English writon, Old English (chiefly late)–Middle English writen, early Middle English writenn ( Ormulum), early Middle English wrytan, Middle English write, Middle English writoun, Middle English written, Middle English writun, Middle English writyn, Middle English wryten, Middle English wrytyn, late Middle English writt, late Middle English wryt. eOE tr. Bede Eccl. Hist. (Tanner) v. xvii. 460 Hi..þus writon betwyh him.lOE King Ælfred tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. (Bodl.) (2009) I. xviii. 281 Eac þa [ðe] hi ymbe writon.a1225 (c1200) Vices & Virtues (1888) 27 Ðat ðe ure hali faderes..writen, and tahte. ▸ a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) vii. l. 21 Yit of that Calistre And Aristotle whylom write To Alisandre, thou schalt wite.1408 (c1395) Bible (Wycliffite, L.V.) (Fairf.) Deeds xv. 23 Wryten [a1450 Cambr. Dd.1.27 writen, c1450 Bodl. 277 wreten; a1425 Royal The apostlis..wroten..to hem..greting].1435 in A. T. Bannister Reg. Thome Spofford (1919) 203 Syth the tyme that we writt unto you by our writes..ther bee fallen uppon us..gret mater of wyght.c1451 J. Capgrave Life St. Gilbert (1910) 95 Þei..morouyr wrytyn and sent on-to þe Pope compleynyng.

β. early Old English wreoton, Old English wreotan. eOE tr. Bede Eccl. Hist. (Tanner) iv. xxv. 346 His song & his leoð wæron swa wynsumu to gehyranne, þætte seolfan þa his lareowas æt his muðe wreoton & leornodon.lOE Agreement between Abbot Ceolred & Wulfred (Sawyer 1440) in S. E. Kelly Charters of Peterborough Abbey (2009) 216 Her sindan ða naman ðere monna þe þis wreotan & festnedan.

γ. Middle English wrete, Middle English wreten. ▸ a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1874) V. 147 Athanasius..and oþer bisshoppes..wrete for seventy chapitres.c1450 (c1350) Alexander & Dindimus (Bodl.) (1929) l. 24 Þe gentil Genosophistiens..To þe Emperour Alixandre here answerus wreten.?1454 M. Paston in Paston Lett. & Papers (2004) I. 254 Your erondys þat ye wrete to me fore.

δ. Middle English whrat, Middle English wrate. a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 16688 ‘Ihesus nazaren, o Iuus king,’ þar-on þai wrate.?c1475 (a1402) J. Trevisa Gospel of Nicodemus (Salisbury) f. 140 Huy sette and wrate and seyde eyþer in þis maner.

ε. Middle English whrote, Middle English wroght, Middle English wrogth, Middle English wroot, Middle English wroote, Middle English wrot, Middle English wrote, Middle English wroten. Some instances of forms with g(h) could alternatively be interpreted as showing the past tense of work v. (compare Forms 2α. at that entry).a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Trin. Cambr.) l. 16681 Þe cause of his deþ þei wroot [c1460 Laud wroght] abouen his heed on hy.a1425 (c1395) Bible (Wycliffite, L.V.) (Royal) (1850) Deeds xv. 23 The apostlis..wroten..greting.a1500 ( Vision E. Leversedge (1991) 128 Þey wrot to me þere conseyte.

b. Weak.

α. late Middle English writede, late Middle English writide, late Middle English wrytted, 1500s–1600s (1800s regional or nonstandard) writed. a1425 (c1395) Bible (Wycliffite, L.V.) (Royal) (1850) 1 Esdras iv. 6 Thei writiden accusing aȝens the dwellers of Juda.a1579 H. Balnaves Confession of Faith (1584) xxi 163 Where euer the Apost. S. P. writed or preached.1646 W. Prynne Canterburies Doome 485 Crantzius..&..Hospinian..writed that Witikind found the face of Charls the Great, full of alacrity after he approached..the Lords Table.1864 Mrs. H. Wood Trevlyn Hold III. vi. 80 I..brought him the big Bible, and held it afore him in bed, that he might lean the letter on while he writed it.

β. 1800s writtened (U.S. regional (in African-American usage)). 1884 J. A. Harrison Negro Eng. in Anglia 7 253 Pres. write—Past..written, writtened.

3. Past participle. a. Strong. (i).

α. early Old English uuriten (Kentish, in prefixed forms (not ge-)), early Old English wrieten (in prefixed forms (not ge-)), Old English gewriten, Old English gewryten, Old English writn- (Anglian, inflected form, in prefixed forms (not ge-)), Old English wrytan (in prefixed forms (not ge-)), Old English (rare)–Middle English (in a copy of an Old English charter) gewritan, Old English (in prefixed forms (not ge-))–1500s writyn, Old English–1600s writen, Old English (in prefixed forms (not ge-))–1600s wryten, late Old English gewriton, late Old English writæn (in prefixed forms (not ge-)), late Old English writan (in prefixed forms (not ge-)), late Old English–Middle English iwriten, early Middle English ȝewritan, early Middle English ȝewriten, early Middle English ȝewriton, early Middle English iwritæn, early Middle English writenn ( Ormulum), Middle English iwritin, Middle English iwryten, Middle English iwrytyn, Middle English jwriten, Middle English jwryten, Middle English vriten, Middle English wirtin, Middle English wrijten, Middle English writene, Middle English writin, Middle English writon, Middle English writun, Middle English writune, Middle English writyne, Middle English wrten (northern, perhaps transmission error), Middle English wrytene, Middle English wrytin, Middle English wryton, Middle English wrytun, Middle English wyrtyn, Middle English ywriten, Middle English ywriton, Middle English ywryten, Middle English (1500s archaic) ywrytyn, Middle English–1500s wrytyn, 1500s wryghten, 1500s–1600s wrighten; Scottish pre-1700 vritin, pre-1700 vritine, pre-1700 vriting, pre-1700 vrityn, pre-1700 vrityne, pre-1700 vritynne, pre-1700 vrythin, pre-1700 vrytin, pre-1700 vrytyn, pre-1700 vrytyng, pre-1700 wrietten, pre-1700 writhin, pre-1700 writin, pre-1700 writine, pre-1700 writing, pre-1700 writyn, pre-1700 writyne, pre-1700 writyng, pre-1700 wryghten, pre-1700 wryten, pre-1700 wrytin, pre-1700 wrytine, pre-1700 wrytyn, pre-1700 wrytyne, pre-1700 1700s writen. eOE (Kentish) Will of Ealdorman Ælfred (Sawyer 1508) in N. P. Brooks & S. E. Kelly Charters of Christ Church Canterbury, Pt. 2 (2013) 810 Sio ðis lond gewriten & unbefliten [etc.].OE Beowulf (2008) 1688 On ðæm wæs or writen fyrngewinnes.a1225 (?OE) MS Lamb. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 11 Nu weren þas þreo laȝe ȝe-writen.c1390 (a1376) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Vernon) (1867) A. i. l. 174 Wordes I-writen In þe Ewangelye.a1447 H. Beaufort in H. Ellis Orig. Lett. Eng. Hist. (1824) 1st Ser. I. 8 Wrytyn of myn owne hand at London the xij. day of Marche.?c1530 in H. Ellis Orig. Lett. Eng. Hist. (1846) 3rd Ser. II. 221 Y wrytyn at Godolphyn.1693 M. Grahame Let. 8 Nov. in J. Grant Seafield Corr. 1685–1708 (1912) 127 This is wryten in my bed.1703 Earl of Seafield Let. 10 July in P. H. Brown Lett. Scotl. Reign Queen Anne (1915) 8 I have writen to the Earle of Notingham.

β. early Old English wreoten (Kentish, in prefixed forms (not ge-)), early Middle English gewreten (in a copy of an Old English charter), Middle English iwreten, Middle English iwretyn, Middle English wrethun, Middle English wretun, Middle English wretyne, Middle English wrretyn, Middle English ywreten, Middle English–1500s wretin, Middle English–1500s wreton, Middle English–1500s wretyn, Middle English–1600s wreten; Scottish pre-1700 ureten, pre-1700 vreetin, pre-1700 vreittin, pre-1700 vretin, pre-1700 vretine, pre-1700 wreaten, pre-1700 wreatin, pre-1700 wreatine, pre-1700 wreatne, pre-1700 wreatten, pre-1700 wreattin, pre-1700 wreiten, pre-1700 wreitin, pre-1700 wreitten, pre-1700 wreittin, pre-1700 wreten, pre-1700 wretin, pre-1700 wretine, pre-1700 wreting, pre-1700 wretyn, pre-1700 wretyne, pre-1700 wretyng, pre-1700 wreyten, pre-1700 wreyttin. eOE (Kentish) Will of Ealdorman Ælfred (Sawyer 1508) in N. P. Brooks & S. E. Kelly Charters of Christ Church Canterbury, Pt. 2 (2013) 810 Ðeos foresprec & þas gewriotu þe herbeufan awreotene stondað.] a1300 (?OE) Royal Charter: Edward the Confessor to Church of St. Benet of Holme (Sawyer 1055) in J. Conway Davies Chartae Antiquae Rolls 11–20 (1960) 83 Hy hyranuppen on leden gewretene [printed geyretene] [a1300 Galba gewritene] standeð. ▸ a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) (1961) Deut. xxix. 20 Sittyn opon hym alle þe corsid þynges þat been wretun in þis volym.c1415 (c1380) G. Chaucer Second Nun's Tale (Lansd.) (1875) l. 210 Euery where þis wordes al wiþ golde wreten [c1430 Cambr. Gg.4.27 I-wretyn] were.1534 T. Cromwell Let. in R. B. Merriman Life & Lett. Cromwell (1902) I. 385 Wretyn at my house.1693 J. Anderson Let. 17 July in J. Grant Seafield Corr. 1685–1708 (1912) 109 Some things contained in a le[tte]r wreitten to him.

γ. Old English gewritten (Northumbrian, in a compound), Old English uuritten (Northumbrian), Old English writtn- (Northumbrian, inflected form-, in prefixed forms (not ge-)), Old English wuritten (Northumbrian, in prefixed forms (not ge-)), Old English (chiefly Northumbrian, in prefixed forms (not ge-)) Middle English– written, Middle English iwritten, Middle English ywrytten, Middle English–1500s whryttyn, Middle English–1500s writton, Middle English–1500s writtyn, Middle English–1500s wryttin, Middle English–1500s wrytton, Middle English–1500s wryttyn, Middle English–1500s wryttyne, Middle English (in a late copy)–1500s (archaic) ywritten, Middle English–1600s writtin, Middle English–1600s wrytten, 1500s whrythyn, 1600s writt'n, 1900s wrutten (English regional (Cumberland)); Scottish pre-1700 urittinn, pre-1700 virtyne, pre-1700 vrittene, pre-1700 vrittin, pre-1700 vritting, pre-1700 vrittyng, pre-1700 vryttin, pre-1700 vrytting, pre-1700 vryttyn, pre-1700 vyrtyn, pre-1700 wirrityn, pre-1700 wirtin, pre-1700 wirttyn, pre-1700 wirtyn, pre-1700 wirtyne, pre-1700 writn, pre-1700 writne, pre-1700 writtan, pre-1700 writtin, pre-1700 writtine, pre-1700 writting, pre-1700 writtyn, pre-1700 wrytten, pre-1700 wryttin, pre-1700 wryttine, pre-1700 wrytting, pre-1700 wryttyn, pre-1700 wryttyne, pre-1700 wryttyng, pre-1700 wyrittyn, pre-1700 wyrting, pre-1700 wyrttyn, pre-1700 wyrtyn, pre-1700 wyrtyne, pre-1700 1700s– written, pre-1700 1800s– vritten, 1800s– vrutten, 1900s rittin. OE (Northumbrian) Lindisf. Gospels: John vi. 31 Sicut scribtum est : suæ uuritten is. ▸ a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1882) VIII. 41 As it is i-written in his lyf.a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 6995 In his time war þe fabus written.c1400 in C. Brown Relig. Lyrics 14th Cent. (1924) 157 Tyl a lettre of loue me lede, Þat was wyrtyn on a wall.a1500 (c1425) Andrew of Wyntoun Oryg. Cron. Scotl. (Nero) ii. l. 225 As in þe Bibil wryttyn [a1550 Wemyss writtin] is.1562 A. Brooke tr. M. Bandello Tragicall Hist. Romeus & Iuliet f. 20 Ywritten haue I red,..There is no better way to fishe.1644 J. Milton Areopagitica 33 Things not before discourst or writt'n of.1747 S. Johnson Plan Dict. 12 Many words written alike are differently pronounced.1871 W. Alexander Johnny Gibb xlviii. 330 [How] hisna he vrutten to you.1967 G. F. Fiennes I tried to run Railway iii. 28 He had horse written all over him.2014 B. Chakrabarty Left Radicalism in India (2015) Pref. p. xv I cannot claim to have written a bias-free account.

δ. late Middle English–1500s wretton, late Middle English–1500s wrettyn, late Middle English–1600s wretten; Scottish pre-1700 uretten, pre-1700 vrettin, pre-1700 wertyn, pre-1700 wertyne, pre-1700 wretn, pre-1700 wretten, pre-1700 wrettin, pre-1700 wretting, pre-1700 wrettyn, pre-1700 wrettyne. 1428 in J. A. Kingdon Arch. Worshipful Company of Grocers (1886) II. 189 Also for stor lyke as was wretton in þe ȝer affor þat ys to say in barowe hyrdell scaffald.1445 A. Paston in Paston Lett. & Papers (2004) I. 27 Wrettyn in haste at Norwich.c1515 Ld. Berners tr. Bk. Duke Huon of Burdeux (1882–7) cxvi. 407 Letters..wretten on the pament.1660 in L. B. Taylor Aberdeen Council Lett. (1954) IV. 41 It is wrettin to William Thomsone to come home befoir the parliament.

ε. late Middle English wrotyn, 1500s roten; U.S. regional 1800s roten, 1800s– wroten; Scottish 1900s roatun. a1475 (a1450) Tournam. of Tottenham (Harl.) (1930) l. 85 A broche on hur brest..With þe holy rode tokenyng was wrotyn [emended in ed. to wrethyn] for þe nonys.1857 J. D. Long Pictures of Slavery 295 Bress de Lord, I feel dat my name is roten on his hands.

ζ. Scottish pre-1700 vrayting, pre-1700 wraitten. 1544 in A. I. Cameron Sc. Corr. Mary of Lorraine (1927) 90 Dissayring..syk niscessers as hir grace..hes vrayting for vith hir imbassaturs.a1614 J. Melville Autobiogr. & Diary (1842) 367 I have wraitten a special treatise thairof.

η. Scottish pre-1700 wrotten, pre-1700 wrottin. 1586 in Cal. State Papers Scotl. (1914) VIII. 474 Since Captain Hakerstoun's leat conference vithe thearle of Leicester his lordship hes wrottin the more earnestly.1614 in R. Pitcairn Criminal Trials Scotl. (1833) III. 305 This memoriall wes wrotten by my lordes own dyteing.

(ii).

α. Middle English iwrite, Middle English iwrithe, Middle English iwryte, Middle English ywrite, Middle English ywryte, Middle English–1500s (1600s Scottish) wryte, Middle English–1600s (1700s Scottish) write, 1600s wright; U.S. regional 1900s– write ((in African-American usage)). a1200 (?c1175) Poema Morale (Trin. Cambr.) l. 228 in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1873) 2nd Ser. 227 [A] boc hit is write.a1225 (?OE) MS Vesp. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 241 Hit is iwrite Nemo [etc.].c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) l. 1901 Ywrite [?a1425 Digby wryte, a1450 London Univ. y wrytten, c1450 Cambr. Univ. wryten] was lo þis.a1450 St. Edith (Faust.) (1883) l. 1266 Þe sothe as y fynd in story y-wryte.1501 Alcock's Mons Perfectionis (new ed.) sig. Ci^v/2 Cryst cam into þ^e worlde as it is wryte.1678 in 12th Rep. Royal Comm. Hist. MSS (1890) App. v. 53 Hee has wright my Lord all perticulars.1705 Earl of Seafield Let. 18 July in P. H. Brown Lett. Scotl. Reign Queen Anne (1915) 61 It is write by one I can trust. 1953 E. B. Atwood Surv. Verb Forms Eastern U.S. 26 The uninflected write is used by two Negro informants.

β. Middle English iwrete, Middle English wrete, Middle English ywrete; Scottish pre-1700 wreat, pre-1700 wreit, pre-1700 wreitt, pre-1700 1700s wreate. c1300 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Otho) (1978) l. 11468 Þat soþe his iwrete.a1475 (?a1430) J. Lydgate tr. G. Deguileville Pilgrimage Life Man (Vitell.) l. 10008 The word ywrete in sapyence.?1499 J. Skelton Bowge of Courte (de Worde) sig. Biv^v On that sleue these wordes were wrete.1694 J. Anderson Let. 2 May in J. Grant Seafield Corr. 1685–1708 (1912) 144 The Secretarys are wreitt to anent it.1701 in J. Hunter Diocese & Presbytery Dunkeld (1918) II. 324 [The presbytery appointed him] to be wreate to keep [etc.].

γ. Middle English iwritte, Middle English iwrytte, Middle English wrytte, Middle English ywritte, Middle English ywrytt, Middle English (1500s–1600s archaic) ywrit, Middle English–1500s wryt, Middle English–1600s writte, Middle English–1600s wrytt, Middle English–1700s writt, Middle English– writ (now chiefly regional, archaic or nonstandard, except in Phrases 3a), 1500s ywritt (archaic), 1800s rit (U.S. regional); N.E.D. (1928) also records a form late Middle English whritte. ?c1335 in W. Heuser Kildare-Gedichte (1904) 89 Þes wordes þat ich speke nou last, In latin hit is iwritte in boke.1457 W. Worcester in Paston Lett. & Papers (2004) II. 172 Wryt hastly at London the fyrst day of Maij.1590 E. Spenser Faerie Queene i. x. sig. I7^v Her sacred Booke, with blood ywritt.1681 W. Penn in Mem. Hist. Soc. Pennsylvania (1826) I. 204 I have..writt truth.1745 Earl of Chesterfield Private Corr. Chesterfield & Newcastle 1744–46 (1930) 6 If I could have writt to 'em myself to-night.1859 Ld. Tennyson Elaine in Idylls of King 205 The letter..being writ And folded.1999 J. Lethem Motherless Brooklyn 93 They sticker pay phones with their phone number, writ in phosphorescent font.2001 Edmonton (Alberta) Jrnl. (Nexis) 9 Feb. e1 This week it was presto-changeo time again, writ large.

δ. late Middle English wret, late Middle English wrett, late Middle English ywret, late Middle English–1500s wrette; Scottish pre-1700 werit, pre-1700 wrett, 1800s (1900s Shetland) wret. 1423 in Hist. MSS Comm.: Rep. MSS Var. Coll. (1907) IV. 83 in Parl. Papers (Cd. 3218) LXIV. 1 Y wret at Exeter the day..a bove y sayd.1507 Treat. Nycodemus Gospell sig. Eiii Both byllys were all one hande as though one man had wrette them both.1646 in Hamilton Papers (1880) 126 The other was wrett yesternight.1914 J. S. Angus Gloss. Shetland Dial. 158 Wret,..to write; p.t. and pa.p. wret.

ε. 1500s– wrote (now regional or nonstandard), 1600s wroate; Scottish 1800s vrote. 1565 T. Stapleton tr. Bede Hist. Church Eng. 2nd Ep. Ded. f. 12^v Such thinges as I haue wrote of the most holy father.1637 J. Taylor Drinke & Welcome sig. D^v So I..Have wroate a hotchpotch.1728 E. Chambers Cycl. at Verse The Books themselves were wrote [1738 written] all running, without any Divisions, Points, &c.1847 C. Dickens Dombey & Son (1848) xxxiv. 344 Has she wrote to me?1999 T. Etchells Endland Stories 16 Shane + Meniscus = Trouble, someone had wrote up in the wrecking yard of a old factory.

ζ. 1500s wrotte, 1500s–1700s wrot, 1600s wrott; Scottish pre-1700 wrott, 1700s wrot. 1575 G. Gascoigne Fruites of Warre xcii, in Posies sig. Iiii When workes of warre are wrotte by such as I.1693 S. Pepys in H. Ellis Orig. Lett. Eminent Literary Men (1843) (Camden) 212 As had they been wrott on purpose.1710 H. Prideaux Orig. & Right Tithes iii. 154 An exhortatory Epistle wrot to him.

η. Scottish 1800s wrate, 1900s vrat (north-eastern). 1897 Shetland News 15 May 8/1 Dis time he's wrate a sicht mair.1916 G. Abel Wylins 138 He saw dool's signature wis vrat.

b. Weak.

α. Middle English wretyd. Compare before-written adj. at before adv., prep., conj., and n. Compounds 2a.1346 in J. B. Heath Some Acct. Worshipful Company of Grocers (1869) 41 Alle these xxij persones before wretyd.

β. English regional 1900s– writed. 1993 S. Stewart Ramlin Rose xiii. 128 The uniform shirtses and undervests for Fellas Morton, with ‘Fellas’ writed on their tin buttons.

Origin: A word inherited from Germanic.

Etymology: Cognate with Old Frisian wrīta to write (West Frisian write to tear, to ache), Middle Dutch wrīten to twist (Dutch wrijten to cut down, to trim, to twist, to ache, to resist, to wrestle), Old Saxon wrītan to write, to lacerate (Middle Low German wrīten to tear, to write), Old High German rīzan to scratch, to write (Middle High German rīzen to tear, to scratch, to write, German reißen to tear, to tug, to snatch, (now archaic) to draw), early Scandinavian (runic: Sweden) waritu I write, Old Icelandic ríta to scratch, to sketch, to write, and (probably partly < Low German) Swedish rita to scratch, to carve, to engrave, to embroider, to draw, to paint, to write, to tear, to tug, to ache; further etymology unknown.Early history in Germanic. The original sense of the Germanic verb was evidently ‘to scratch’. For parallels to the semantic development from ‘to scratch’ to ‘to write’, compare classical Latin scrībere and the Indo-European forms cited at scribe v., and also the ancient Greek forms cited at character n. Cognates of the verb may also include Middle Low German rīten to tear, to scratch, to ache, and Middle Dutch rīten to tear, to split (Dutch rijten ), if the absence of the initial w- in those is to be explained by the influence of High German. Alternatively, they may reflect a verb (of unknown origin) in the sense ‘to tear’ which merged with the High German cognate of write v. after the regular loss of w- in the initial consonant cluster wr- in that language. (Compare also Old Saxon hrītan to scratch, perhaps ultimately resulting from the same merger.) Verb class and related weak verbs. In Old English a strong verb of Class I, with a long vowel in the present stem. A rare weak verb writian (Class II) seems also to be attested, probably in the sense ‘to paint, to portray’, probably with a short stem vowel: compare Old Icelandic rita to write and (perhaps also with a short vowel) Old High German rizōn (rare) to scratch. For further weak verb formations see rit v.¹ and compare Old Saxon hrittian to plough furrows, to carve in, to write (compare discussion above). Form history. The distinction between Forms 1aα. and 1aβ. is partly arbitrary: some instances of the forms at 1aα. and 1aβ. may instead reflect pronunciation with a short or long vowel respectively. The origin of the short vowel variant suggested by Forms 1aβ. is unclear: it may be due to the influence of the past participle or 3rd singular indicative (compare Forms 1b). Although such forms are predominantly northern, influence of an early Scandinavian cognate of Old Icelandic rita ‘to write’ (a weak verb) is made unlikely by an almost complete absence of weak inflections in Middle English. Compare similar forms at bite v., smite v., and shit v. Middle English and early modern English instances at Forms 1aγ. partly reflect early stages of the Great Vowel Shift (compare wreyte; similarly whrayt at Forms 1aδ. ), and probably partly also reflect a sporadic lowering of short i (compare the β. forms) to short e in the vicinity of a labial in late Middle English. The Scottish instances show the apparent merger of the reflex of early Scots ī with the reflex of long open ē , especially under the influence of a preceding labial (compare A. J. Aitken & C. Macafee Older Sc. Vowels (2002) §14.3.(10)), while Scottish forms at 1aδ. show merger with the reflex of early Scots ā (compare also Forms 2a(i)δ. , resulting from the same mergers). Forms 2a(i)ε. are probably the result of the combined influence of the past participle (compare Forms 3a(ii)γ. ) and of past tense forms of (historically weak) verbs like hit v., slit v., spit v.²; compare similar early modern English forms at the (historically strong) verbs glide v., ride v., smite v., bite v., and compare also abide v. and discussion at that entry. Forms 2a(ii)β. reflect back mutation in the past tense plural (before the back vowel of the ending) in non-West Saxon dialects of Old English (here in sources influenced by Mercian). Similar forms of the past participle (see 3a(i)β. and 3a(ii)β. ) in early use are probably after the past plural. Forms 2a(ii)γ. and the post-1350 forms at 3a(i)β. and 3a(ii)β. are of a different origin, showing lengthening of short i to long close ē in an open syllable. Prefixed forms in Old English. In Old English the prefixed form gewrītan (compare y- prefix) is also attested in the senses ‘to write, to grant in writing or by writing, to write together’; compare also awrītan awrite v., bewrītan to cut or score (a line) around, to inscribe (compare be- prefix and bewrite v.), forwrītan to cut through (compare for- prefix¹), miswrītan miswrite v., underwrītan underwrite v.¹, ymbwrītan to cut or score (a line) around (compare umbe- prefix). While gewrītan is significantly less common than the unprefixed verb, awrītan is frequent (it is attested earlier in sense 7). The sense ‘to cut through’ attested for forwrītan is probably also shown by the unprefixed verb (one isolated attestation in use with reference to bread, alternatively perhaps ‘to tear (apart)’); compare the senses of the West Germanic parallels. Specific senses. In sense 28 after classical Latin scrībere scribe v. in the same sense; compare Middle French escrire (late 14th cent. in Froissart in the same sense: see scrieve v.¹).

†I. To cut or draw (a mark, image, etc.) into or on to an object.

1. transitive. To cut or engrave (a mark or image) into a surface or object. Also: to draw or paint (a picture or representation of something) on a surface; to portray. Obsolete (archaic and poetic after Middle English).Old and Middle English examples of sense 2 in which the reference is to engraving or incising letters, symbols, etc., into a surface such as stone or wax can often be interpreted as specific uses of this sense.In quot. OE¹ referring to a scene depicted on a sword hilt, but the sense is disputed and the word has alternatively been interpreted as referring to a runic inscription.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > painting and drawing > drawing > draw [verb (transitive)]

writeeOE

drawa1398

descrivec1400

describe1538

to draw forth1539

to set out1545

design1570

to draw out1576

detrain1587

lineate16..

linea1616

redraw1728

society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > plastic art > sculpture or carving > incising or intaglio > incise (marks or figures) [verb (transitive)]

writeeOE

gravec1275

raspc1400

insculp?a1475

insculpt1487

scrape1532

sculp?1533

engrave1542

enchase1579

incarve1596

engraven1605

trencha1616

scratch1644

style1864

lithograph1872

scribe1896

eOE King Ælfred tr. Gregory Pastoral Care (Hatton) (1871) xxi. 161 Nim sume tigelan, & lege beforan ðe, & writ on hiere ða burg Hierusalem.

eOE Bald's Leechbk. (Royal) (1865) ii. lxv. 290 Writ þonne þam horse on þam heafde foran cristes mæl.

OE Beowulf (2008) 1688 Hroðgar..hylt sceawode, ealde lafe. On ðæm wæs or writen fyrngewinnes.

OE Prose Charm: St. Columkill's Circle (Vitell. E.xviii) in G. Storms Anglo-Saxon Magic (1948) 309 Writ þysne circul mid þines cnifes orde on anum mealmstane.

c1225 (?c1200) St. Katherine (Bodl.) (1981) l. 68 [She] wrat on hire breoste..þe hali rode-taken.

a1425 (?a1400) G. Chaucer Romaunt Rose (Hunterian) (1891) l. 413 Another thing was don there write That semede lyk an Ipocrite.

a1450 in J. Kail 26 Polit. Poems (1904) 102 Þy countretayle þey wil shewe, þe skore, In helle or in heuene, wreten trewe.

1590 E. Spenser Faerie Queene ii. viii. sig. T8^v Guyons shield..Whereon the Faery Queenes pourtract was writt.

II. To make letters, numbers, etc., on a surface, esp. using a pen, pencil, or similar implement, and related senses.

a. transitive. To form or delineate (a letter, symbol, word, etc.) on a surface, typically paper, with a pen, pencil, or similar implement. Also: to carve, engrave, or incise (characters of this type) into a stone tablet or similar surface; to trace out (such characters) in the sand, the earth, etc.Old and Middle English examples in which the reference is to engraving or incising letters, symbols, etc., into a surface such as stone or wax can often be interpreted as specific uses of sense 1.

ΘΚΠ

society > communication > writing > [verb (transitive)] > a letter or symbol

writeOE

trace1390

society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > plastic art > sculpture or carving > incising or intaglio > incise (marks or figures) [verb (transitive)] > form by incising

writeOE

incise1633

OE West Saxon Gospels: Luke (Corpus Cambr.) xvi. 6 Nim þine feðere & site hraðe & writ fiftig.

c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) Ded. l. 104 Þatt he. An boc staff write twiȝȝess.

c1300 Havelok (Laud) (1868) l. 2481 We deme, þat..þare be writen þise leteres: ‘Þis is þe swike’ [etc.].

a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1876) VI. 221 He fonde þre R and þre F i-write.

?c1425 Crafte Nombrynge in R. Steele Earliest Arithm. in Eng. (1922) 16 Þat digit þat þou hast y-write.

1521 A. Barclay Introd. Frenche sig. Bj Whan .P. is wryten in the ende of a worde in frenche.

1561 in Archaeologia (1770) 1 16 To the peynter for wrighting the scripture.

1614 W. Raleigh Hist. World i. iii. i. §6. 12 It was as easie..to erre in writing two for sixe and twentie, as for three and twentie.

1648 T. Hill Best & Worst of Paul 15 Some tell us Jeremiah and Zachary written contractively in the Hebrew are the same.

1735 S. Johnson tr. J. Lobo Voy. Abyssinia 4 Unhappily, the Secretary wrote Zeila for Dancala.

1845 Kitto's Cycl. Bibl. Lit. (1849) I. 601 At other times they [sc. hieroglyphics] are phonetic, and written by an alphabet of about 140 letters.

1887 A. J. Ellis in Encycl. Brit. XXII. 381 Some system of writing speech-sounds.

1967 P. McKee Eng. for Meaning 58 Help pupils see the need for writing neat letters.

2000 K. Shamsie Salt & Saffron (2001) x. 99 I traced his name on my wrist, in Urdu. Wrote the letters separately..and thought, Too curvy.

2018 @MaceSergal 10 Feb. in twitter.com (accessed 22 Feb. 2021) Jewish-European immigrants would go to England, they couldn't write the English language, and as their signature they would write a circle.

b. transitive. With the surface on which the letters, etc., are inscribed specified in a prepositional phrase introduced by on, or upon (also) in. Cf. sense 3b.Often with reference to the engraving or incising letters, symbols, etc., into a surface such as stone or wax; Old and Middle English examples of this type can often be interpreted as specific uses of sense 1.

ΚΠ

eOE Bald's Leechbk. (Royal) (1865) i. xxxix. 104 Genim æt fruman hæslenne sticcan oþþe ellenne, writ þinne naman on.

OE Maxims I 138 Ræd sceal mon secgan, rune writan.

a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1882) VIII. 63 (MED) Þere [at King Arthur's tomb] was i-founde a croys of leede, and a stoon þeruppon, and lettres i-wrete wiþynne in þe croys i-torned toward the stoon..Hic jacet..rex Arthurus.

?a1425 (c1400) Mandeville's Trav. (Titus C.xvi) (1919) 10 (MED) In the dust & in the powder of þo hilles þei wroot lettres & figures with hire fyngres.

?a1556 Grey Friars Chron. anno 1547 in R. Howlett Monumenta Franciscana (1882) II. 215 Alle churches new whytte-lymed, with the commandmenttes wryttyn on the walles.

1583 J. Craig Short Summe Whole Catech. f. 45^v The names of all the subscribers contained in the principall copie, written in parchment, and kept in the hands of the Ministers.

1649 J. Ogilby tr. Virgil Bucolics v. 13 I'll try that Song on the green Beech I writ.

?1697 J. Lewis Mem. Duke of Glocester (1789) 77 He made an Epitaph..to be wrote on a stone.

1743 A. Pope Dunciad (rev. ed.) iii. 325 On Poets Tombs see Benson's titles writ.

1831 F. Palgrave Hist. Anglo-Saxons vii. 153 The slips of bamboo upon which the inhabitants..write or scratch their compositions with a bodkin.

1857 F. Locker London Lyrics 51 It was I wrote her name on the sand.

1906 J. H. Breasted Hist. Egypt xiii. 249 They must be written on papyrus and the roll placed in the tomb.

2021 @IthacanOnline 21 Feb. in twitter.com (accessed 22 Feb. 2021) Approximately 30 protesters gathered outside the PRW Center with signs and dyes to write messages in the snow.

a. intransitive. To inscribe letters, symbols, words, etc., on paper or another surface, typically using a pen, pencil, or similar implement; to engage in or perform the action of writing. In later use sometimes: spec. to have the ability to produce coherent writing in this way.to read and write: see read v. Phrases 5.

ΘΚΠ

society > communication > writing > [verb (intransitive)]

awriteeOE

writeOE

scrievec1390

to drive a pen (also quill)1788

pen-and-ink1801

screeve1851

pen1904

OE King Ælfred tr. Psalms (Paris) (2001) xliv. 2 Min tunge ys gelicost þæs writeres feþere þe hraðost writ [L. calamus scribae uelociter scribentis].

c1225 (?c1200) St. Juliana (Bodl.) l. 778 He þet her least on wrat swa as he cuðe.

a1350 Recipe Painting in Archæol. Jrnl. (1844) 1 64 (MED) Tac a lutel ere-wax ant pute therin, ant thenne writ.

a1400 (a1325) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Trin. Cambr.) (1887) App. BB. 828 He bad & wrot & radde & huld godes seruise.

1474 W. Caxton tr. Game & Playe of Chesse (1883) iii. iii. 93 Penne to wryte wyth And that ben the Instrumentis & the offices that ben made and put in writynge autentyque.

a1513 W. Dunbar Ballat Abbot of Tungland in Poems (1998) I. 56 He cowth wryte and reid.

c1524 R. Croke in H. Ellis Orig. Lett. Eng. Hist. (1846) 3rd Ser. I. 336 Provided that no man may force hym [sc. a pupil] to wryte oonles I be there presente, to dyrecte..his said hande and stile.

1590 P. Bales Writing Schoolemaster (title page) The Arte of Brachygraphie: that is, to write as fast as a man speaketh treatably.

1626 G. Sandys tr. Ovid Metamorphosis ix. 187 Then fits her trembling hands to write: One holds the wax, the style the other guides.

1661 R. Boyle Some Consider. Style of Script. (1675) 159 We think they write backwards, and they, that we do.

1738 A. Pope One Thousand Seven Hundred & Thirty Eight Dialogue II 12 Chartres scarce could write or read.

1859 E. FitzGerald tr. Rubáiyát Omar Khayyám li. 11 The Moving Finger writes; and, having writ, Moves on.

1864 J. H. Burton Scot Abroad I. iii. 148 A fat philosopher sitting writing..with a goose quill.

1949 G. R. Stewart Earth Abides (1989) ii. ii. 179 We ought to be teaching the children to read and write.

2015 New Yorker 16 Nov. 69/1 A scribe had scraped away at a tenth-century copy and written over it.

2020 Sentinel (Stoke) (Nexis) 3 Jan. 4 At school she had to learn how to write and do everything with her left hand from scratch.

b. intransitive. With the surface on which the letters, etc., are inscribed specified in a prepositional phrase introduced by on, or upon, (also) in. Also in figurative context. Cf. sense 2b.Often with reference to the engraving or incising letters, symbols, etc., into a surface such as stone or wax; with Old and Middle English examples of this kind compare sense 1.

ΚΠ

OE Ælfric Catholic Homilies: 2nd Ser. (Cambr. Gg.3.28) xxviii. 253 Þærrihte wearð gesewen swilce anes mannes hand writende on ðære healle wage.

OE West Saxon Gospels: John (Corpus Cambr.) viii. 6 Se hælend abeah nyþer & wrat mid his fingre on þære eorþan.

a1450 (a1400) Medit. Life & Passion of Christ (BL Add.) (1921) l. 842 On þi forhed so whit so snow Thou writest with a thorny bow.

a1525 (c1448) R. Holland Bk. Howlat l. 206 in W. A. Craigie Asloan MS (1925) II. 101 He couth wryte..With his neb for mistar Apon ye se sand.

1674 C. F. Wit at Venture 85 They write in sand when they make oaths.

1797 Encycl. Brit. XVIII. 917/2 The Chinese..wrote or engraved with an iron tool upon thin boards or on bamboo.

1818 S. Weston La Scava 31 A great quantity of styles to write with on wax-tablets.

1856 B. Seemann Pop. Hist. Palms 65 The coarser parts [of the fibre]..found with this ‘vegetable horsehair’, are used by all the tribes who write on paper as pens.

1970 M. Hodge Crick crack Monkey (1981) vii. 40 And in Big-school you don't write on a slate no man you write on paper.

2013 Daily Oklahoman (Nexis) 10 Oct. 1 d You were in trouble for writing on walls with Crayolas, and most of the time it was just scribbles.

c. intransitive. Of a pen or other writing implement: to perform its function as an implement for writing; esp. to work correctly or in the specified way. Also of ink: to appear a specified colour.

ΚΠ

1598 W. Shakespeare Love's Labour's Lost i. ii. 175 Deuise Wit, write Pen, for I am for whole volumes in folio.

1733 A. Pope 1st Satire 2nd Bk. Horace Imitated ii. i. 15 Whether the..whiten'd Wall provoke the Skew'r to write.

1742 T. Gray Let. July in Corr. (1971) I. 215 My haveing at last found a Pen, that writes.

1786 S. Taylor Shorthand Writing 98 A steel or a silver one [sc. pen] that will write fine.

1866 Alloa (Clackmannanshire) Advertiser 15 Dec. 1/6 (advt.) Murray's Edinburgh Writing Fluid. Prepared expressly for the use of Steel Pens, writes Blue, perfectly fluid and clear, turning shortly afterwards a Deep Permanent Black.

1888 Knowledge 2 July 209/1 A pen which writes with absolute smoothness.

1928 Wichita (Kansas) Sunday Eagle 24 June a/2 The world is not at the end of progress yet. Some day some one will come along with a fountain pen which will write black, blue and red.

1951 E. Sovola Monday follows Tuesday 36 The pen wrote beautifully.

1955 K. Hutton & A. Swallow Chem. for Gen. Sci. xiv. 212 The ordinary blue-black ink writes blue and turns black and permanent later.

2014 Breaking News: globeandmail.com (Nexis) 14 Apr. This is a great pen, this pen writes upside down.

d. intransitive. To use cursive or joined-up handwriting. Also transitive: to inscribe (a word, esp. one's name) using this type of writing. Only in contrast to print (see print v. 12).

ΚΠ

1851 Rep. Schools Nova Scotia, 1850 57 They write and print letters.

1921 Pop. Sci. Monthly Dec. 14/1 (advt.) Write or print your name on the coupon and send it in today.

1960 H. Lee To kill Mockingbird (1963) i. ii. 24 We don't write in the first grade, we print.

2013 H. A. Stein et al. Ophthalmic Assistant (ed. 9) v. 696/1 Marking pens are nylon or felt-tipped with which one can write or print.

a. transitive. To set down (words) in written form so that they can be read or referred to; to commit (a form of words or piece or text, a scribal copy, etc.) to paper or another medium. Also with various metonymic subjects, such as the pen or hand.

ΘΚΠ

society > communication > writing > [verb (transitive)]

awriteeOE

writeOE

speak?c1225

paintc1400

conscribec1487

blecka1500

cipher1565

letter1570

characterize1581

character1589

bewrite1660

scriven1680

quill1768

screeve1851

society > communication > writing > [verb (transitive)] > set down in writing

adighteOE

to set on writea900

dightc1000

writeOE

brevea1225

layc1330

indite1340

take1418

annote1449

printa1450

scribe1465

redact?a1475

reduce1485

letter1504

recite1523

to commit to writing (also paper)1529

pen1530

reduce?1533

token up1535

scripture1540

titulea1550

to set down1562

quote1573

to put down1574

paper1594

to write down1594

apprehend1611

fix1630

exarate1656

depose1668

put1910

society > leisure > the arts > literature > art or occupation of writer or author > be the author of or write (a work) [verb (transitive)] > express in written work or write about

writeOE

inditea1340

pena1527

pursue1558

to lay down1583

discur1586

paper1594

style1605

word1613

exercisea1616

bescribble1643

describble1794

bewrite1875

OE Blickling Homilies 133 Se Halga Gast dihtode ealle þa þing þe halige men writon.

c1225 (?c1200) St. Margaret (Royal) (1934) 53 (MED) Hire bone wes þet ich hit write on boc-felle.

c1390 (a1376) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Vernon) (1867) A. i. l. 174 Þeos beþ wordes I-writen In þe Ewangelye.

a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add. 27944) (1975) II. xv. cxxvii. 801 A penne may nouȝt wryte atte fulle þe preisynge of þis kyngedome.

?a1475 Lessons of Dirige (Douce) l. 566 in J. Kail 26 Polit. Poems (1904) 139 Who may graunte me thys boone, That my wordes wreten were In ensample of euerychon?

1526 W. Bonde Pylgrimage of Perfection Pref. sig. Aiii These instruccions, that I haue gathered and writen for you.

a1616 W. Shakespeare King John (1623) iv. i. 37 Can you not reade it? Is it not faire writ ?

1681 S. Fell in Jrnl. Friends' Hist. Soc. (1912) 9 136 At leasure it may bee written faire in the Booke.

1788 C. Reeve Exiles III. 191 I will get these instructions wrote in a proper form.

1825 J. F. Cooper Lionel Lincoln III. 258 At the close of his long life, he wrote Gen., Bart., and M.P. after his name.

1941 ‘Gypsy Rose Lee’ G-String Murders (2005) iv. 47 The pad of paper rested against the window sill and a delicate brown hand wrote the Chinese version of twelve egg rolls and ten orders of roast pork.

2017 Public Opinion (Chambersburg, Pa.) (Nexis) 22 Jan. b7 Using a permanent marker or china pencil, write the seed's name, the mature size and planting instructions.

2018 @amersham_sci 12 Oct. in twitter.com (accessed 22 Feb. 2021) Extracting DNA, looking at fingerprints and trying to find which pen wrote the ransom note.

b. transitive. To enter (a name, date, etc.) in a roll, account, or similar document; to register; (also more generally) to include (a person or thing) in a list in this way. In Middle English often (and sometimes in later use) in spiritual contexts with reference to God, the Devil, etc., recording a person's name amongst those destined for heaven or hell.

ΘΚΠ

society > communication > record > written record > record in writing [verb (transitive)] > enter on record

writeOE

setc1175

embreve?c1225

enrolc1350

enter1389

rollc1400

enact1467

act1475

enchroniclea1513

ascribe1532

re-enter1535

to put down1574

register1597

inscroll1600

emologea1639

spread1823

to book in1860

to sign on1879

log1889

sign1894

to sign out1916

to sign in1924

OE tr. Chrodegang of Metz Regula Canonicorum (Corpus Cambr. 191) lxxiii. 313 Ða mæssepreostas underfon þæs folces teoðuncga and habbon ealra þæra syllendra naman gewriten ofer heora weofod [L. scripta habeant super altare].

c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 3554 He shall writenn alle þa Þatt cwemmdenn himm o life. Onn eche lifess bokess writt.

a1225 (?OE) MS Lamb. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 21 Þe deofel..writ heo [sc. a sin] in his tables.

1346 in J. B. Heath Some Acct. Worshipful Company of Grocers (1869) 41 Alle these xxij persones before wretyd.

c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) Heb. xii. 23 Ȝe han come nyȝ to..the chirche of the firste men, the whiche ben writun in heuenes.

a1450 (a1400) Medit. Life & Passion of Christ (BL Add.) (1921) l. 884 To writon vs in bok þat neuere failes.

c1475 (?c1400) Apol. Lollard Doctr. (1842) 4 (MED) Joi ȝe þat ȝor namis are writun in heuen.

1535 Bible (Coverdale) Isa. iv. B All soch as are written amonge the lyuynge at Ierusalem.

1595 E. Spenser Amoretti lxxv, in Amoretti & Epithalamion sig. E7 My verse..shall..in the heuens wryte your glorious name.

1623 H. Cockeram Eng. Dict. ii. s.v. To Write his name to a Band.

1715 J. Addison Spectator No. 568. ¶3 [He] had written the Names of several Persons..at the Side of every Sin..mentioned by that excellent Author.

1773 R. Fergusson Poems 111 To hae your name Wrote in the bonny book of fame.

1877 M. Oliphant Makers of Florence (ed. 2) i. 2 The names of the older generations are writ in brass on the glowing walls of the Inferno.

1885 ‘Mrs. Alexander’ At Bay v. 75 Glynn took her programme and wrote his own name for several waltzes.

1910 H. Graham Mother of Parl. (1911) viii. 146 The Speaker first takes the oath in a very similar fashion, and writes his name in the Roll of Members.

2021 P. O'Brien Unknown Vengeance (e-book, accessed 13 June 2021) xiii I noticed it when Alyssa wrote their names on the board. I thought it was interesting that both of the first two victims' last names started with a C, and the next two started with an H.

c. transitive. To employ (Old or New Style) when giving dates in writing. Cf. new style n., old style n. 1. rare (now historical).

ΘΚΠ

the world > time > reckoning of time > chronology > arrange chronologically [verb (transitive)] > mark with the date > employ in dating

write1651

1651 J. Marius Advice Bills of Exchange 3 In Hamborrough they doe write the same stile with us here in England, namely old stile: but in all other parts beyond the Seas, generally they doe write new stile, which is ten days before us.

1999 D. Merwick Death of Notary (2002) i. 32 The English, however, preferred the ‘old style’ Julian calendar. Now he carefully returns to writing ‘new style’.

†d. transitive. Of a manuscript: to exhibit (a particular linguistic form or scribal choice). Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

society > communication > writing > state of having been written > exhibit in writing (of MS, etc.) [verb (transitive)]

write1712

1712 J. Addison Spectator No. 470. ¶1 I have..been informed, that such or such Ancient Manuscripts for an et write an ac.

a. transitive. To spell (a word) in a specified way; to set down (a word, letter, symbol, etc.) in a specified form.

ΘΚΠ

society > communication > writing > spelling > spell [verb (transitive)]

writeOE

spelderc1175

spella1595

OE Ælfric Gram. (St. John's Oxf.) 265 Þes que is sceort mid þrym stafum gewriten oððe getitelod, and se langa quae, þe is feminvm of quis, sceal beon mid feower stafum q, u, a, e awriten.

c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) Ded. l. 109 Forr he ne maȝȝ nohht elless. Onn ennglissh writenn rihht te word.

a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add. 27944) (1975) II. xviii. lxxxv. 1236 Þis name pigargus haþ non aspiracioun in þe firste sillable and so it schal nouȝt be writen wiþ h. But some men writen phigargus and doon amys.

1487 (a1380) J. Barbour Bruce (St. John's Cambr.) x. 748 And for this word scho gert vrit swa, Men wend the franch-men suld it ta.

1565 W. Alley Πτωχομυσεῖον iii. f. 93^v This worde Caeremonia, is diuersly written, some write it with a diphthonge, other with a single e.

a1645 J. Philipot Villare Cantianum (1659) 395/2 Blackmanstone, written Bleachmanstone, that is, Man's bleak Town.

1747 S. Johnson Plan Dict. 12 Many words written alike are differently pronounced.

1828 R. Duppa Trav. Italy 8 In this MS...Virgil is uniformly written Vergil.

1865 A. Way in Promptorium Parvulorum p. lxxiii The word written according to the orthography of the period.

1944 Sociometry 7 258 They often write it [sc. nature] with a capital ‘N’ and endow it with all the teleological virtues of a universal alma mater.

2016 K. Norman Bridge over Blood River 240 ‘How do you write your name?’ he asks me.

b. intransitive. To represent words and speech sounds orthographically; to spell words in writing.

ΘΚΠ

society > communication > writing > spelling > spell [verb (intransitive)]

spelderc1175

spelea1400

spella1400

writec1620

c1620 A. Hume Of Orthogr. Britan Tongue (1870) i. viii. §4 I wald understand quhy they wryte not as they speak.

1704 J. Pitts True Acct. Mohammetans Pref. sig. A4^v I..writ as near, as I could, to their way of speaking it.

1877 Month Apr. 492 The first writers of English wrote phonetically.

1985 E. Gordon & T. Deverson N.Z. Eng. 15 Because the early settlers and their children wrote in standard spelling we cannot tell how they pronounced their words.

†6. transitive. To put one's mark or signature on (a charter or other document) as a token of witness or authorization. Also reflexive: to identify oneself on a document in this way. Obsolete.

ΚΠ

eOE (Kentish) Charter: Lufu to Christ Church, Canterbury (Sawyer 1197) in N. P. Brooks & S. E. Kelly Charters of Christ Church Canterbury, Pt. 2 (2013) 743 Ic Ceolnoð mid Godes gefe ercebiscop mid Cristes rodetacne ðis festnie & write.

lOE Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Laud) (Peterborough interpolation) anno 963 Her wæs Ælfstan biscop..& feola oðre rice men, & ealle hit geatton, & ealle hit writen mid Cristes mæl.

?1435 in C. L. Kingsford Chrons. London (1905) 22 (MED) I, Richard, kyng aforseyd, with myn owne hande have wretyn me vnderneth here.

7. transitive. To mark or cover (paper or a similar surface) with letters, symbols, words, etc.; to inscribe with. Also: to carve, engrave, or incise characters of this type into (a stone tablet or similar surface); to trace out such characters in (the sand, the earth, etc.). Chiefly in passive. Also figurative.Quot. OE shows equivalent use of prefixed awrite v.

ΘΚΠ

society > communication > writing > [verb (transitive)] > cover with writing

writec1225

to write over1649

overwrite1820

society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > plastic art > sculpture or carving > incising or intaglio > incise (marks or figures) [verb (transitive)] > incise (a surface)

writea1325

gravec1374

engrail1548

incise1567

re-engravea1631

engrave1832

intaglio1847

OE Seven Sleepers (Julius) (1994) 55 He..funde ane leadene tabulan eall awritene, and þa hi openlice rædde.]

c1225 (?c1200) Sawles Warde (Bodl.) (1938) 10 Euch an [sc. devil] bereð a gret boc al of sunnen iwriten wið swarte smeale leattres.

a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 3613 Oðere tables he brogte eft, writen.

a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) (1959) Exod. xxxi. 18 Þe lord ȝaue to Moises..two stonen tablis of wyttnessing: wryten wiþ þe fyngre of god.

a1425 (c1384) Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Corpus Oxf.) (1850) Ezek. ii. 9 He leide it [sc. a boke] abrood before me, the which was writen withinforth and withoutforth.

a1450 (a1400) Medit. Life & Passion of Christ (BL Add.) (1921) l. 1190 Strong was þy pyne þe to wyte His fayre forhed with þornes wryte.

?1473 W. Caxton in tr. R. Le Fèvre Recuyell Hist. Troye (1894) I. Pref. lf. 2 Aftyr that y had made and wretyn a fyve or six quayers.

1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 499/1 Correcte this boke, it is falce written.

1600 W. Shakespeare Much Ado about Nothing ii. iii. 130 Til she haue writ a sheete of paper.

1739 Hist. Wks. Learned I. 103 That the Leaves of these two great Poets were wrote at Random.

1833 Mrs. Stowe in Life (1889) 70 The envelope was written in a scrawny, scrawly, gentleman's hand.

a1849 T. L. Beddoes Poems (1851) I. 157 Writing the sand Idly he paused.

1853 D. Rock Church of our Fathers (1903) IV. 87 A small strip of vellum written with the following translation.

1986 Christie's Sale Catal.: Bks from Libr. M. Boulton 12 Dec. 16 Bound in six vols...248 leaves written rectos only (with 1 page on verso in vol. II).

2013 Africa News (Nexis) 25 Aug. Door handles are often stolen, windows recklessly smashed, chairs and desks damaged or defaced, security walls and buildings written with graffiti.

8. transitive. To use (a particular style of handwriting).

ΘΚΠ

society > communication > writing > handwriting or style of > write in specific style [verb (transitive)]

writea1393

a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) viii. l. 887 He..preide hir forto make an ende And wryte ayein hire oghne hond.

1576 A. Fleming tr. Hippocrates in Panoplie Epist. 276 He wrote a running hand.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Henry VI, Pt. 2 (1623) iv. ii. 93 Nay, he can..write Court hand.

1660 T. Willsford Scales of Comm. To Rdr. sig. A ij Mr. Nathanael Sharp, who writeth all the usuall hands writ in this Nation.

1702 London Gaz. No. 3865/4 Writing a tolerable Clerk's-Hand.

1738 J. Swift Compl. Coll. Genteel Conversat. 28 Whoe'er writ it, writes a Hand like a Foot.

1851 H. Mayhew London Labour I. 313/1 He writes a good hand.

1964 Illustr. London News 28 Nov. 875/3 Cassel's remarkable gift for writing shorthand (he had begun life as a journalist).

2016 J. Gibson in J. Daybell & A. Gordon Cultures of Corr. in Early Mod. Brit. 260 Some women wrote secretary hand, and many could read it.

9. transitive. (in passive). figurative. Of a quality, attribute, feeling, etc.: to be clearly indicated in or discernible from the appearance of a person or thing; esp. to be apparent or unmistakable in a person's face or expression. Usually followed by a prepositional phrase introduced by on, over, (less commonly) in. Now frequently in to be written all over (a person or thing).

ΘΚΠ

society > communication > indication > marking > mark [verb (transitive)] > a person with some condition or quality

record1580

write1594

impicture1595

imprint1712

1594 T. Nashe Vnfortunate Traveller sig. L^v Hauing passioned thus a while, she hastely ranne and lookt her selfe in her glasse to see if her sinne were not written on her forhead.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Measure for Measure (1623) iv. ii. 155 There is written in your brow Prouost, honesty and constancie.

a1653 H. Binning Serm. in Wks. (1845) 648 Insobriety is written upon many passages of your behaviour.

1682 J. Dryden Mac Flecknoe 13 A Tun of Man in thy large Bulk is Writ.

1854 W. M. Thackeray Newcomes I. xxv. 242 Cook and housekeeper is written on her round face.

1866 C. J. Lever Sir Brook Fossbrooke I. 78 One on whom Nature had written gentleman.

1949 W. S. Churchill Second World War II. i. ii. 46 Utter dejection was written on every face.

2013 @jeanneshanerr 7 Dec. in twitter.com (accessed 22 Feb. 2021) I can still hear him say ‘I love you’ like it was yesterday, and you could see it written on my face that I hadn't ever felt that way.

10. transitive. To paint (a commercial sign or advertisement) on the fascia, window, etc., of a shop. Also intransitive. Cf. signwriter n., signwriting n.

ΘΚΠ

society > communication > indication > that which identifies or distinguishes > signboard > [verb (transitive)] > write signs

write1837

society > communication > indication > that which identifies or distinguishes > signboard > [verb (intransitive)] > write signs

write1889

1837 N. Whittock et al. Compl. Bk. Trades 358 Most mere house-painters undertake to paint sign boards..and some of them can..write them tolerably well.

1889 W. Sutherland Art & Craft Sign-writing viii. 10/1 Writing upon the glass.

1919 W. H. Leverhulme Six-hour Day & Other Industrial Questions (ed. 2) 130 He wrote a sign and put it up.

2003 Financial Times 7 Oct. (FT Creative Business) 3/3 (heading) The joys of trying to write ad campaigns in a shop window.

11. intransitive. To create text using a typewriter or similar instrument by pressing the keys; to type. Also transitive with the text as object. Now rare.

ΘΚΠ

society > communication > printing > typing > type [verb (intransitive)]

write1874

typewrite1887

type1888

society > communication > printing > typing > type [verb (transitive)]

to peck outa1382

pound1865

write1874

typewrite1887

type1888

tickle1926

to tap out1952

1874 Atlanta (Georgia) Daily Herald 17 Feb. The type writer is about the size of an ordinary sewing machine, and is worked with keys similar to piano keys. It is claimed that an expert can write with it readily sixty word [sic], a minute.

1875 E. H. Knight Amer. Mech. Dict. III. 2677/1 Johnston's apparatus for the blind is to enable them to write by pressure upon letters in the required order.

1883 J. G. Petrie Man. for Type-writer 3 The learner must be content to write slowly and deliberately at the commencement.

1883 J. G. Petrie Man. for Type-writer 3 Writing and re-writing familiar words until the fingers run easily.

1907 Pitman's Jrnl. (U.S. ed.) Nov. 312 Rose L. Fritz, writing from copy for one hour, wins [the International Typewriting Trophy] with a net speed of 87 words per minute.

1936 E. G. Blackstone & S. L. Smith Improvem. Instr. Typewriting v. 80 Evaluate the use of keyboard shields, keyboard aprons, and other devices that aim to make the student write by touch.

12. transitive. Of an instrument: to produce (a graphical record of recorded data). Also intransitive.

ΘΚΠ

society > communication > record > recording or reproducing sound or visual material > record [verb (transitive)]

register1797

write1886

record1888

can1907

re-record1927

pre-record1941

pretape1958

audiotape1961

1886 J. Milne Earthquakes ii. 34 To obtain a record of all the vibrations of an earthquake it is necessary that the surface on which the seismograph writes should at the time of an earthquake be in motion.

1949 B. Gutenberg & C. F. Richter Seismicity of Earth 95/1 Tsunamis are frequently recorded on mareograms written by tide gages.

1975 Nature 6 Feb. 423/1 Our predicted signals do not resemble those of typical creep events as written by creepmeters.

1990 M. P. Iturralde Dict. & Handbk. Nucl. Med. & Clin. Imaging (2018) 84/1 A chart recorder saves the information as a graph written by a pen.

13. transitive. Computing. To enter and store (data) on a storage medium or device (such as a disc, tape, or drive), or in a particular location in memory; to enter data on (a storage medium). Also intransitive. Frequently with in, into, on, or to. Cf. read v. 11e.

ΘΚΠ

society > computing and information technology > data > database > use data [verb (transitive)] > store

store1909

write1946

save1961

to back up1967

to read in1970

archive1979

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.

1948 Math. Tables & Other Aids Computation 3 123 The machines will be able to read from, or write on, the tapes.

1966 McGraw-Hill Encycl. Sci. & Technol. (rev. ed.) IV. 188/1 The store instruction selects an address through the selection circuit for writing the contents of the accumulator in the memory location specified.

1970 O. Dopping Computers & Data Processing xiv. 226 The computer time for file maintenance..is often mainly determined by the time for reading and writing magnetic tape.

1980 Sci. Amer. Aug. 114/1 The head that writes the data can also be used to read it.

1991 What Personal Computer Dec. 116/2 These are programs which take over when DOS wants to read or write to the hard disk.

2001 Working from Home Mar. 38/1 There are two types of CD that you can write to. The first is CD-R or writable disk.

2017 M. E. Soper Expanding your Raspberry Pi iii. 50 If you want to write to the drive (copy files to the drive, delete files on the drive, add a folder to the drive, or make other changes), you need to perform two additional tasks.

III. To compose a written work or produce a written document, and related senses.

14.

a. transitive. To compose (a literary work or other piece of continuous prose, verse, etc.), typically for written or printed reproduction or publication; to put into literary form and set down in writing (a story, tale, etc.); to be the author of (a book, pamphlet, journalistic or scholarly article, etc.).

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > the arts > literature > art or occupation of writer or author > be the author of or write (a work) [verb (transitive)]

setc888

adighteOE

awriteeOE

writeeOE

dightc1000

workOE

makelOE

brevea1225

ditea1300

aditec1330

indite1340

betravail1387

compone1393

saya1475

compile1477

compose1483

comprise1485

recite1523

pen1530

contex1542

invent1576

author1597

context1628

to make up1630

spawn1631

society > leisure > the arts > literature > art or occupation of writer or author > be the author of or write (a work) [verb (transitive)] > present by literary treatment

beloukOE

induce1484

handle1531

introduce1559

manage1697

write1781

plant1948

eOE Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Parker) anno 84 Her Iohannes se godspellere in Pathma þam ealonde wrat þa boc Apocalipsis.

a1225 MS Lamb. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 55 For alswa god hit bit, and inne þe godspelle þe he writ.

c1405 (c1395) G. Chaucer Clerk's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 1147 Therfore Petrak writeth This storie which he with heigh stile enditeth.

1530 Myroure Oure Ladye (Fawkes) (1873) i. 18 To him that writeth my songe & my praysynge.

1533 J. Gau tr. C. Pedersen Richt Vay 25 Al the buikis..qvhilk..oders cane writ.

a1586 Sir P. Sidney Astrophel & Stella (1591) 24 In pearcing phrases late The Anatomie of all my woes I wrate.

1608 A. Willet Hexapla in Exodum 257 When Moses writte that storie.

1652 E. Nicholas Let. 10 Oct. in Papers (1886) I. 311 Pamphlets which..he wrote to persuade those at Westminster to enter into war.

a1719 J. Addison Dialogues Medals in Wks. (1721) I. ii. 461 They writ the whole Poem on purpose to abuse the person.

1781 W. Cowper Let. 12 July (1979) I. 497 I have writ Charity..as well as I could.

1819 W. Scott Ivanhoe III. iii. 82 [If] the monks..take not to writing chronicles.

1895 Bookman Oct. 11/2 He is..busy writing the new novel.

1930 Publishers' Weekly 8 Feb. 709/1 They are always striving to write a piece of copy that will be ‘different’.

1990 Paris Rev. Fall 69 When you write a piece of fiction, a hint of unreality always seeps into it.

2018 R. George Nine Pints vi. 210 The magazine writer Frank Bures wrote a book recently.

b. transitive. Followed by a prepositional phrase indicating the subject, purpose, intended audience, etc., of the work.In quot. c1400 with the intended audience as indirect object.

ΚΠ

OE Ælfric Let. to Sigeweard (De Veteri et Novo Test.) (Laud) 53 Marcus se godspellere..wrat þa oðre boc be Petres bodunge.

c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 5810 [They] writenn off þe laferrd crist. Goddspell o fowwre bokess.

c1400 (c1378) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Laud 581) (1869) B. x. l. 169 I wrote hir many bokes.

1481 W. Caxton in tr. Cicero De Senectute (Caxton) Prohemye sig. 1.2 The polytyque book..whiche that Tullius wrote vpon the disputaconns & commynycacions made to the puissaunt duc Cato.

c1520 M. Nisbet New Test. in Scots (1901) I. 17 It was niedful that it [sc. the euangel] war writin alsa aganis heretikis.

1586 G. Whitney Choice of Emblemes Ep. Ded. sig. *4 His priuate bookes he wratte to Traian, of counsell and gouernement.

1685 E. Waller On Divine Poesy i. 17 Verse so designed, on that high subject wrote.

1715 J. Addison Spectator No. 568. ¶3 Some-body had written a Book against the 'Squire.

1794 A. M. Bennett Ellen II. 47 Volumes wrote on the subject could not do it away.

1820 Q. Musical Mag. 2 68 The character of the Count [in the opera] has been obviously written for Signor Garcia.

1888 J. M. Barrie When Man's Single xi. 180 Mary Abinger..read them [sc. books] proudly, knowing that they were all written for her.

1938 D. Thomas Let. 31 Aug. (1987) 322 He wrote an article about me & said I had the medieval mind.

2002 H. Habila Waiting for Angel (2003) 16 But the poems are harmless. Love poems. And diaries. You wrote the poems for your girl, isn't it?

c. transitive. With out of. To remove (a scene, character, etc.) from a dramatic script or story (sometimes spec. by introducing a storyline which accounts for their absence); (in extended use) to exclude or omit (someone or something) from the narrative of historical events (esp. the dominant or established view of the history of a particular period, subject, etc.), or from the normal course of life. Later also with into, with reference to the addition or inclusion of a character, etc. Chiefly in passive. Cf. to write out 3 at Phrasal verbs.

ΚΠ

1924 Amarillo (Texas) Globe 14 May 4/7 He is said to have rebelled at the suggestion of the director that he get in the way of the flying dish of ice cream, and the scene had to be written out of the script!

1933 San Antonio (Texas) Light 2 May b 5/2 Sade of ‘Vic and Sade’ was written out of the script for a reason. She married a doctor Saturday and now is on her honeymoon.

1988 B. W. Aldiss Forgotten Life xii. 255 Any country that disarms itself voluntarily..writes itself out of history.

1995 N. Whittaker Platform Souls (1996) xxii. 174 The branch line experience is something else that has been almost written out of British life.

2009 N.Y. Rev. Bks. 26 Mar. 43/2 Some of the family were constitutional nationalists, the people who would be written out of the script of modern Irish history.

2012 New Yorker 23 Apr. 50/2 Kron has since written a scene into the ‘Fun Home’ musical in which Helen plays Mrs. Warren.

d. transitive. To create or depict (a character, place, etc.) in a literary or dramatic work. With complement indicating the characteristics, attributes, or purpose of the character, etc.

ΚΠ

1931 G. Cooper Gladys Cooper vii. 76 Galsworthy did not want me in the play at all. The part was that of a flapper, and when he saw me with my hair up he said: ‘Oh, no—not at all. She won't do. I wrote the character as a girl with her hair down her back and she must have it down.’

1993 Albuquerque (New Mexico) Jrnl. 31 Mar. b5/1 (heading) Tim O'Donnell and Richard Gurman write her as a bossy, compulsive, insecure ninny.

2012 Classical Rev. 62 391 She shows how Ennius writes Rome as the fulfilment of the Homeric epic tradition.

2020 @skateordie002 1 Dec. in twitter.com (accessed 2 Mar. 2021) David Cage wrote her as a young woman.

15.

a. To engage in or perform the action of expressing ideas, thoughts, stories, etc., in literary form; to compose a literary work or other piece of structured writing. Followed by a prepositional phrase indicating the subject, purpose, intended audience, etc.

(a) intransitive. Introduced by about, of, on, upon (formerly also †by, †umbe), indicating a matter, subject, etc., that is being described or discussed. Also introduced by against, †contrary, indicating another writer, who is being controverted, or with to, indicating a person who is being addressed. Cf. branch IV.

ΚΠ

OE Blickling Homilies 161 Se halga godspellere swa be him wrat.

lOE King Ælfred tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. (Bodl.) (2009) I. xviii. 281 Swa some swa þa writeras dydon and eac þa ðe hi ymbe writon.

c1230 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Corpus Cambr.) (1962) 209 Ȝe habbeð of þeos blissen iwriten elleshwer.

a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) iv. l. 2649 Thilke time at Rome also Was Tullius with Cithero, That writen upon Rethorike.

a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) iv. l. 2669 Among the whiche in Poesie To the lovers Ovide wrot.

J. Metham Amoryus & Cleopes (1916) l. 524 (MED) Haly the gret clerk..off constellacionnys doth wryght.

1565 T. Cooper Thesaurus at Rescribo To write contrarie or agaynst olde orations.

1644 J. Milton Areopagitica 33 Things not before discourst or writt'n of.

1698 J. Floyer Treat. Asthma (1717) p. i All the Moderns that have Writ on that Subject.

1737 Gentleman's Mag. Aug. 499/2 Had they wrote against the Ministry, we could have borne it.

1743 A. Pope Dunciad (rev. ed.) iv. 252 For thee we..explain a thing till all men doubt it, And write about it, Goddess, and about it.

1819 S. Rogers Human Life 40 Once in thy mirth thou badst me write on thee.

1883 E. B. Tylor in Encycl. Brit. XV. 199/1 Cicero writes of them as wise men, augurs, and diviners.

1951 Jrnl. Hist. Ideas 12 597 Freitag..also wrote against the new Sennerto-Paracelsic sect.

2020 New Yorker 13 Apr. 40/2 We are in the zombie apocalypse, which my students have been writing about for well over a decade, so young people are mentally prepared.

(b) intransitive. Introduced by in, indicating a particular style of writing. Cf. sense 15c.

ΚΠ

1526 R. Whitford tr. Martiloge f. lviii^v A preest wryteth in a style moche eloquent.

1670 T. Gale Court of Gentiles: Pt. II iv. i. 368 Amongst all Aristotle's Works we find none written in a Dialogick Style, though it be generally confest, he writ many Dialogues.

1713 J. Addison in Guardian 31 July 2/1 Some gave him very loud acclamations,..declaring him the only man who had written in a style which was truly heroical.

1805 W. Roscoe Life Leo X I. Pref. p. xxii His diary is written in a pedestrian and semi-barbarian style.

1888 Sat. Rev. 6 Oct. 417/2 M. Darmesteter has written in a style occasionally a little decadent and over-elaborate.

1933 D. Thomas Coll. Lett. (1987) 61 It is written in a high and wordily romantic style that could, if the attention was shifted only momentarily off its meaning, be turned to bathos.

2013 L. M. Principe Secrets of Alchemy ii. 45 The author writes in a self-consciously grand manner.

(c) intransitive. Introduced by for, indicating the medium, publication, patron, etc., for which a work is created. Also occasionally introduced by on, indicating a publication employing the writer or journalist.

ΚΠ

1668 J. Dryden Of Dramatick Poesie 39 We have invented, increas'd and perfected a more pleasant way of writing for the Stage then was ever known to the Ancients or Moderns of any Nation, which is Tragicomedie.

1749 T. Smollett Regicide Pref. sig. A2^v A Gentleman who had wrote for the Stage.

1817 S. T. Coleridge Coll. Lett. (1959) IV. 721 None but men of fortune can afford to write for the Theatre.

1889 Universal Rev. Oct. 215 The man who writes for the Telegraph must write Telegraphese.

1895 T. H. S. Escott Platform, Press 281 The Daily News, on which Pigott once wrote.

1919 T. S. Eliot Let. 2 Oct. (1988) I. 337 I enclose a letter which shows that I have been asked to write for the Times Literary Supplement—to write the Leading Article from time to time.

1992 Cambr. Anc. Hist. (ed. 2) V. 238 He wrote for patrons from many parts of the Greek world.

2001 Wasafiri Autumn 17/1 My background is in poetry. And when I wrote for theatre I always wrote in choreopoems, dramatic poems.

b. intransitive. In sense 15a with complements of other kinds or without complement; spec. to be an author or writer.

ΘΚΠ

society > communication > writing > [verb (intransitive)] > write as occupation

writec1275

scribe1651

scriven1680

clerk1822

society > communication > writing > writer > [verb (intransitive)] > follow or practice writing as profession

writec1275

society > leisure > the arts > literature > art or occupation of writer or author > follow occupation of writer [verb (intransitive)]

writec1275

to trail a pen1680

to sling ink1870

c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 21 Þa makede a Frenchis clerc Wace wes ihoten þe wel couþe writen.

a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 17846 Sundri þai þam fra oþer saite, And aiþer be him-seluen wrate.

c1475 (c1445) R. Pecock Donet (1921) 6 (MED) It is honest ynouȝ a man to speke and write aftir oon of þo opyniouns.

1526 W. Bonde Pylgrimage of Perfection Pref. sig. Aii Ther vpon I begon after my pore maner to write in latine.

1575 G. Gascoigne Glasse of Gouernem. iii. ii. sig. Fii^v To conceiue that he spake or wrot like olde Duns or Scotus.

1610 Bible (Douay) II. Ecclus. xxxviii. comm. S. Paul not only preached, but also writte.

1639 R.Lovelace in G. A. Pallas Armata To Rdr. sig. A7 He fights now with her Penne And shee writes with his Sword.

1689 M. Prior Epist. to F. Shephard 38 He writes well, who writes with Ease.

1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. iii. 332 Halifax.., from whom Dryden was not ashamed to own that he had learned to write.

1890 Hardwicke's Sci.-gossip 26 177/1 I am not writing in the dark.

1952 Times Lit. Suppl. 21 Nov. 764/4 Born to write, he struggled on to finish his last novel even when he had become physically unable to use his pen.

2007 Church Times 14 Sept. 23/2 Fox writes well, with engaging candour, and manages to be funny without any Christian cringe factor.

2019 D. Young What doesn't kill you makes you Blacker ix. 173 I'd only decided to write for a living because I got laid off and couldn't do shit else.

c. transitive. To have or use (a particular style of writing).More normally expressed with the intransitive verb followed by a prepositional phrase introduced by in: see sense 15a(b).

ΚΠ

c1484 (a1475) J. de Caritate tr. Secreta Secret. (Takamiya) (1977) 121 (MED) Of þe makyng of medycynes, me semyth best to wryte hem after þe gyse and maner þat þe physycyens wryght qwan þei make ther byllis to send to potecaryis.

1548 Philogamus sig. A.v^v He wrote so hygh a style As none wythin a myle Coulde fashyon wyth a fyle Wyth al hys wyt and wyle.

1698 T. Rymer Ess. Crit. & Curious Learning 11 He no sooner says, that I write a better Style than the Doctor, but you may perceive he immediately recollects himself.

1785 J.S. in R. Fergusson Poems 220 You write sic easy stile and plain..Nae southern loun dare you disdain.

1822 W. Hazlitt Table-talk II. viii. 185 It is not easy to write a familiar style.

1908 Living Church 7 Mar. 640/2 In the endeavor to write a ‘popular’ style the author has allowed himself to descend to altogether undue depths.

2011 S. Wade Straightforward Guide to Creative Writing (ed. 2) 146 Never be pompous. Write an accessible style.

d. intransitive. Of an author: to make one's literary style more or less elevated in order to suit one's subject matter or address a particular audience. Now only in to write down 4 at Phrasal verbs, to write up 4 at Phrasal verbs.

ΚΠ

1602 N. Breton Soules Harmony sig. B6^v Oh bring my hand one blessed Pen, To write beyond the reach of men.

1609 W. Shakespeare Sonnets lxxxvi. sig. F2^v By spirits taught to write, Aboue a mortall pitch.

1672 A. Marvell Rehearsal Transpros'd i. 114 The fault is most his own who should have writ to the capacity of vulgar Readers.

e. transitive. To bring (a person, etc.) to a particular state or condition by what one writes. Chiefly reflexive.Usually with prepositional phrase (typically introduced by into or out of) e.g. I appear to have written myself into a corner; also occasionally with adjective complement (see, e.g., quot. 1734).

ΘΚΠ

society > communication > writing > [verb (transitive)] > reduce to specific state by writing

write1642

1642 Remonstr. Londons Occurr. sig. A4 There's no harme in all this, were it not a mad thing for a man to burne his lippes with supping hot pottage, to talke or write himselfe into prison.

1734 A. Pope Epist. to Arbuthnot 32 A dire Dilemma! either way I'm sped, If Foes, they write, if Friends, they read me dead.

1736 Gentleman's Mag. Nov. 662 The Craftsman hath seen better Days; but he has wrote himself into Contempt.

1751 W. Warburton in Wks. of Alexander Pope IV. 159 (note) That no man was ever written out of reputation, but by himself.

1841 W. M. Thackeray Great Hoggarty Diamond xi You have..written yourself out of five hundred a-year.

1852 B. Thorpe Northern Mythol. III. 15 Another, whose cabbages were constantly stolen from his garden, wrote the thief fast from Saturday night till Sunday.

1871 E. Bulwer-Lytton Coming Race xvii If we wrote our fingers to the bone, we could not throw any light [etc.].

1990 R. Malan My Traitor's Heart (1991) ii. 284 Ah, God, how did I write myself into that corner?

f. transitive. To work (one's way) to a favourable situation or outcome through one's writing or literary endeavours.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > the arts > literature > art or occupation of writer or author > make one's way by writing [verb (reflexive)]

write1735

1735 S. Rudd Let. Ministers of Calvinistical Baptist Persuasion 38 What steps he afterwards took in making the world a judge of the controversy, were no more than what he was obliged to in his own defense, there being no other expedient left him, by which he might vindicate himself, than that of writing his way thro'.

1890 T. F. Tout in F. Y. Powell et al. Hist. Eng. III. 111 Addison wrote his way with his Whig pamphlets to a secretaryship of state.

1936 Times 17 July 19/2 She..by sheer resolution, combined with Irish wit and shrewdness, wrote her way to success.

2020 G. Avilez Black Queer Freedom (e-book ed.) Through the letter, Joss writes his way to a personal freedom.

16.

a. transitive. To produce or draw up (a legal or other formal document, e.g. a will, a receipt, a prescription). Also in extended use.

ΘΚΠ

society > communication > writing > manner of writing > [verb (transitive)] > draw up document

writeOE

makec1300

drawc1390

to make upa1425

to make out1465

prepare1562

to draw up1623

scriven1742

to draw out1773

redact1837

OE West Saxon Gospels: John (Corpus Cambr.) xix. 19 Witodlice Pilatus wrat ofergewrit & sette ofer his rode.

OE Royal Charter: William I to Archbishops, Bishops, & Others, supporting Rights of Abbot Baldwin in D. C. Douglas Feudal Documents Abbey Bury St. Edmunds (1932) 53 Ic Willelm..bebead þis gewrit to writene & gewritan ic hic gemearcode to trymmunge mid tacne drihtenlican rode.

a1333 in C. Brown Relig. Lyrics 14th Cent. (1924) 19 And helpe he wole ich wot, Vor loue þe chartre wrot, Þe enke orn of hys wounde.

1455–6 Rolls of Parl.: Henry VI (Electronic ed.) Parl. July 1455 §53. m. 3 The said officers woll write newe distressez ayenst your commissioners.

1542 N. Udall tr. Erasmus Apophthegmes (1877) ii. 251 An instrumente writen in greate letters of texte hande.

1659 W. Chamberlayne Pharonnida iii. i. sig. N2 Where Loves fair hand hath Valours pasport wright.

1722 Applebee's Original Weekly Jrnl. 17 Feb. 2298/1 According to a Receipt written by his own Hand.

1751 T. Smollett Peregrine Pickle I. vii. 50 A lawyer..to write her last will.

1833 Aberdeen Jrnl. 3 July Physicians should in future be obliged to write their prescriptions in English.

1889 J. Ruskin Præterita III. iv. 159 Mozart's birth wrote the laws of melody for all the world..irrevocably.

1981 M. C. Gerald Pharmacol. (ed. 2) xvi. 344 In 1977, 54 million prescriptions were written for diazepam.

2014 Scottish Daily Mail 17 May 21/3 She recently revealed that she has already written her will, which would see her wealth passed to her three children in stages.

b. intransitive. To work drawing up documents, keeping records or accounts, acting as a scribe or copyist, etc.; to work as a writer (writer n. 2). Cf. writing n. Now rare.

ΘΚΠ

society > law > legal profession > practice law [verb (intransitive)] > act as writer to signet

writec1475

c1475 Antichrist & Disciples in J. H. Todd Three Treat. J. Wycklyffe (1851) p. cxxxviii To write to þe kynges seel & hold seculer courtes to byȝe & to selle.

1759 T. Gray Let. 24 July in London Rev. Eng. & Foreign Lit. (1775) App. 489 We were, first, a man that writes for Lord Royston; 2dly, a man that writes for Dr. Burton, of York; [etc.].

1853 C. Dickens Bleak House xx. 198 You might live through it on much worse terms than by writing for Snagsby.

1895 Southeastern Reporter 22 548/2 I am writing for Mr. William J. O'Dell, acting as principal. I have been writing for him about two years.

1942 Louisville & Nashville Employes' Mag. Mar. 56/1 Changes ‘for the duration’ find Lewis Hinton across the hall as secretary to Mr. Tilford and Larry Russ writing for Mr. Quinn.

c. transitive. To fill in (a cheque). Now also allusively with reference to the funding of the activities of a person, institution, etc., without the strict implication of cheques being used.

ΚΠ

1818 Morning Chron. 31 Dec. He wrote a cheque on his Banker for (we believe) two thousand pounds.

1837 C. Dickens Pickwick Papers lii. 570 Perker wrote a cheque for the whole amount.

1938 M. Muggeridge In Valley ix. 62 I wrote a cheque for twenty Swiss francs.

1980 M. Shoard Theft of Countryside iii. x. 113 While the cost of this approach is of course even more fearsome at first glance than those of management agreements, at least it does not involve local authorities in writing blank cheques.

2006 Independent 26 July (Extra section) 6/1 Writing cheques for a whole term of karate so you can go the once and then say you don't like it.

2017 Daily Mirror (Ireland ed.) (Nexis) 23 Oct. 10 They [sc. the bankers] have been running rings around the Government since we wrote them a €64billion cheque to cover their arses when the economy imploded.

d. intransitive. U.S. Of a doctor: to make out or issue a prescription. Often in drug users' slang with reference to a doctor willing to issue prescriptions to addicts.Frequently followed by a prepositional phrase introduced by for, indicating the drug prescribed.

ΚΠ

1862 Bull. N.Y. Acad. Medicine 1 121 He should write for two grains of sulphate of morphia.

1900 Med. Rec. (N.Y.) 9 June 1023/1 The drug stores might each have a doctor, who would write for any drug desired!

1953 W. S. Burroughs Junkie ii. 25 Roy located an Italian doctor out in the Bronx who would write.

1978 H. Selby Requiem for Dream 49 He still writes for tranks and downers.

2004 D. B. Worthen Pharmacy in World War II vi. 133 The physician wrote for atropine sulfate hypodermic tablets, dissolved and given in drops.

e. transitive. To insert (a provision or clause) into a law, agreement, policy, etc. Cf. to write in 2a at Phrasal verbs.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > language > speech > agreement > make an agreement with [verb (transitive)] > stipulate

stipulate1645

condition1675

write1869

1869 Rep. Supreme Court Mass. 97 391 It is perhaps needless to add that verbal representations can never be converted into warranties otherwise than by being afterwards written into the policy.

1962 Listener 25 Jan. 155/1 All sorts of safeguards have been written into the agreements.

1962 Rep. Comm. Broadcasting 1960 138 in Parl. Papers 1961–2 (Cmnd. 1753) X. 259 A suitable form of words to this effect should be written into the new Charter.

2010 Independent 17 Apr. 36/2 The gnarly hero of the small government movement here and author of Tabor—the taxpayer's bill of rights that was written into law in Colorado and many of its municipalities more than a decade ago.

17.

a. transitive. To compose and send (a letter or similar communication) to someone; to communicate with a person by (letter, email, etc.). Frequently with the recipient indicated as an indirect object or in a prepositional phrase introduced by to (also †unto, †till); cf. sense 17b.

ΘΚΠ

society > communication > correspondence > letter-writing > write (a letter) [verb (transitive)]

writeOE

aditec1330

indite1340

OE tr. Alexander's Let. to Aristotle (1995) §1. 224 Her is seo gesengenis [read gesetenis] Alexandres epistoles.., þone he wrat & sende to Aristotile.

c1380 Sir Ferumbras (1879) l. 1782 Þe lettre þat ys til hym wryte.

c1440 Prose Life Alexander (Thornton) (1913) 66 He garte writte anoþer lettre, and sent it to Talyfride.

1538 E. Foxe in N. Pocock Rec. Reformation I. 141 I wrote two letters unto you..ascertaining you of my arrival and other occurrents there.

c1560 A. Scott Poems (S.T.S.) ix. 17 It is þe hairt to quhome ȝe wret The misseif.

1613 J. Saris Jrnl. in Voy. Japan (1900) 94 This daye Mr. Cocks writt me a letter.

1710 R. Steele Tatler No. 4. ⁋2 Another hath just now writ three Lines to Clarissa.

1802 M. Moore Lascelles II. 126 The young man..writ her a polite note.

1848 W. M. Thackeray Vanity Fair xlix. 434 I want you..to write a card for Colonel and Mrs. Crawley.

1927 V. Woolf Let. 31 Jan. in Lett. to V. Woolf (1984) 148 It was nice to get your telegram and letters—write as many as you can. It gives one a fillip.

2010 Independent 8 Dec. (Life section) 5/2 We write emails as casually as we make a phone call—but we read them with the seriousness with which we take a letter.

2018 L. Wright God save Texas viii. 226 Mayor Herbst had written a letter to her constituents to tell them that she was taking hormone therapy and transitioning to female.

b. To compose and send a letter or similar communication to someone; to send a written message.Frequently with infinitive as complement, expressing the purpose of the correspondence, e.g. She wrote to ask how I was.

(a) intransitive. With the recipient indicated in a prepositional phrase introduced by to, (or, now rarely, unto, till); cf. sense 17a.

ΘΚΠ

society > communication > correspondence > letter-writing > write a letter [verb (intransitive)]

writeOE

epistolize1650

to write in1834

letter1861

OE tr. Alexander's Let. to Aristotle (1995) §2. 224 Þa geþohte ic for þon to þe to writanne be þæm þeodlonde Indie.

c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Royal) (1850) Jude i. 3 Makinge al bisynesse of writinge to ȝou of ȝoure comoun helthe.

1488 (c1478) Hary Actis & Deidis Schir William Wallace (Adv.) (1968–9) xii. l. 945 Than Eduuard wrayt till Menteth prewali.

1534 T. Cromwell Let. in R. B. Merriman Life & Lett. Cromwell (1902) I. 394 Wherefore..I..am bold to wryght vnto you.

1648 T. Gage Eng.-Amer. 163 I writ unto my friends.

1663 King Charles II in J. M. Cartwright Madame (1894) 136 I writt to you yesterday.

1751 E. Haywood Hist. Betsy Thoughtless IV. xvi. 191 The abbess was wrote to concerning me.

1814 Duke of Wellington Dispatches (1838) XII. 7 Write to me to General Colville's quarters.

1888 ‘J. S. Winter’ Bootle's Children viii. 57 Ferrers wrote to a friend of his at Chertsey.

1926 E. Wharton Let. 11 Aug. (1988) 491 Your dear letter came just after I had written to you.

2016 N.Y. Times (National ed.) 14 Feb. (Business section) 8/6 I read every letter from customers, and when they're good, I write to the employees mentioned and include the letter.

(b) intransitive. Without the recipient specified. Also with plural subject: to conduct a correspondence by letter or similar communication.

ΚΠ

c1405 (c1390) G. Chaucer Man of Law's Tale (Hengwrt) (1871) l. 759 Wo was this kyng whan he this lettre hadde seyn..But of his owene hond he wroot ageyn.

c1450 (c1350) Alexander & Dindimus (Bodl.) (1929) l. 244 Whan dereworþe Dindimus þe enditinge hurde Of Alixandre askinge as he write hadde.

1552 in A. Feuillerat Documents Office of Revels Edward VI (1914) 89 Sir wheras you required me to write, for that [etc.].

1626 R. Montagu Let. 11 Sept. in Corr. J. Cosin (1869) I. 104 I haue no[t] much newes, nor occasion to write.

1692 H. Prideaux Lett. (1875) 158 I have expressly wrot to be informed of it.

1719 D. Defoe Life Robinson Crusoe 41 Goods, such as the Captain had writ for.

1751 S. Johnson Rambler No. 171. ⁋6 I applied to him by letter, but had no answer. I writ in terms more pressing.

1842 in J. Bischoff Comprehensive Hist. Woollen Manuf. II. 318 He wrote to request my aid.

1887 Doidge's Western Counties Illustr. Ann. for 1887 143 At the time our story opens they wrote regularly and often paid each other long visits.

1890 R. C. Lehmann Harry Fludyer 31 Tell Mary she hasn't written for an age.

1993 Event Summer 58 The letter carrier would come soon. If there was nothing from Karl, she would have to wait till Monday. Why don't you write?

2012 Green Parent Apr. 47/1 We had briefly visited Brithdir Mawr..and subsequently wrote to ask if we could bring our turnout and animals to stay as long-term volunteers.

c. transitive. To compose and send a letter to (someone). Now chiefly North American.In early use with the recipient as an indirect object (in Old English dative object). By the late 18th cent. apparently typically analysed as a direct object, and in Britain viewed as colloquial, or associated with the usage of business and commercial circles. Now viewed as nonstandard in British English and similar varieties, but in standard use in North America.

ΚΠ

OE West Saxon Gospels: Luke (Corpus Cambr.) i. 3 Me geþuhte geornlice eallum oð endebyrdnesse writan þe, þu se selusta Theophilus, þæt ðu oncnawe þara worda soþfæstnesse of ðam ðe þu gelæred eart.

a1413 (c1385) G. Chaucer Troilus & Criseyde (Pierpont Morgan) (1882) v. l. 1303 Thow hast not wreten here [c1430 Cambr. Gg.4.27 wrete to hyre] syn þat she wente... Now write here þanne [c1430 Cambr. Gg.4.27 write to hire].

c1450 C. d'Orleans Poems (1941) 125 (MED) I sory am thus forto write yow here, Forwhi to say hit were me more plesere Bi mouth then make this ocupacioun.

1611 J. Ussher Let. 4 Oct. in R. Parr Life J. Usher (1686) Coll. vii. 15 Together with..Mr. Cook's Books you wrote me of.

1672 in Camden Soc. Misc. (1881) 13 Being in hast, have not tyme to wright any body else.

1763 E. Carter in Mem. (1808) I. 356 I writ you from Amsterdam.

1795 Ld. Nelson in Dispatches & Lett. (1845) II. 32 As I write you,..I shall not write Mrs. Nelson this day.

1854 W. M. Thackeray Newcomes I. xxxi. 310 Clive..wrote me about the transmogrification of our schoolfellow.

1864 J. H. Newman Apologia vi. 346 When friends wrote me on the subject, I either did not deny or I confessed it.

1891 Harper's Mag. Nov. 840/1 Mr. Adams was another character of whom my host had written me.

1922 C. Mackenzie Altar Steps xxiii. 263 I will write you again when I have seen Father Burrowes.

1955 J. P. Donleavy Ginger Man xi. 104 I haven't. You can't blame me. I'm sorry I wrote your father. I'm sorry for it.

1973 Black Panther 17 Nov. 10/2 It is circulating an impeachment petition nationwide while encouraging all citizens to write their congressmen.

2017 New Yorker 27 Feb. 49/3 ‘My sched is so tight, literally from sunrise to well past sunset,’ Flynn wrote me, in a text message.

†18. transitive. To translate (a text) from one language into another. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > intelligibility > meaning > explanation, exposition > translation > translate [verb (transitive)]

setc888

wendeOE

turnc1175

writec1275

drawa1325

translatea1375

expound1377

takea1382

interpret1382

transpose1390

remue?a1400

renderc1400

put?a1425

to draw outa1450

reducec1450

compile1483

redige?1517

make1529

traducea1533

traduct1534

converta1538

do1561

to set out1597

transcribe1639

throw1652

metaphrase1868

versionize1874

c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 3149 Alfred..wrat þa laȝen on Englis.

a1413 (c1385) G. Chaucer Troilus & Criseyde (Pierpont Morgan) (1881) ii. l. 14 Of no sentement I þis endite, But out of latyn in my tunge it write.

c1475 Babees Bk. (Harl. 5086) (2002) i. 1 This tretys the whiche I thenke to wryte Out of latyn in-to my comvne langage.

19. transitive. To be able to produce coherent written text in (a particular language); to be a competent user of the written form of (a language).Sometimes used in contrast to being able to speak a language or read text written in it; cf. read v. 5b, speak v. 13.

ΘΚΠ

society > communication > writing > [verb (transitive)] > employ specific language in writing

writec1390

c1390 Castle of Love (Vernon) (1967) l. 24 Ne mowe we alle Latin wite, Ne Ebreu ne Gru þat beþ iwrite.

c1475 in J. P. Genet Four Eng. Polit. Tracts (1977) 205 (MED) Good maisters..that shulde..teche theyme well to reede and write frenshe, latyn and othir langage.

1521 A. Barclay (title) Here begynneth the introductory to wryte, and to pronounce frenche.

1582 R. Mulcaster 1st Pt. Elementarie xi. 53 Such peple, as teach childern to read and write English.

1664 J. Dryden Rival Ladies Ded. sig. A3^v I have endeavour'd to write English, as near [etc.].

1757 tr. J. G. Keyssler Trav. IV. 28 Charles VI..speaks and writes Latin, Italian, Spanish and French.

1845 M. Pattison in Christian Remembrancer Jan. 74 The Latin which Gregory writes is..his native tongue.

1959 V. Cronin Pearl to India vi. 86 Grantham was not, as Europeans thought, a name for Sanskrit, but merely the angular script evolved by the Tamils to write Sanskrit.

2014 Marvels & Tales 28 311 In the early seventeenth century parents themselves seemed to want their children to learn to read and write Arabic and Italian and to a lesser extent French.

20. In extended use with reference to non-linguistic works created using other formal systems of representation and notation.

a. To compose (music); to set down (a musical work) in notation.

(a) transitive.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > the arts > music > written or printed music > notation > notate [verb (transitive)]

prickc1390

write?a1505

notate1871

a1505 R. Henryson Orpheus & Eurydice 240 in Poems (1981) 140 Off sik musik to wryte I do bot dote, Thar-for at this mater a stra I lay.

1672 T. Salmon Ess. Advancem. Musick Contents sig. A6^v One who can Sing a Treble part, can immediately Sing that which is written for the Base.

1782 C. Burney Gen. Hist. Music II. 566 Such keys as these pieces are written in.

1885 Dict. National Biogr. II. 105 [Arne] wrote new music for Addison's opera ‘Rosamond’.

1941 C. Porter Let's not talk about Love in Compl. Lyrics (1983) 217 Let's write a tune that's playable, a ditty swing-and-swayable.

1977 Listener 26 May 692/1 The vocal line is written in the customary recitativo secco style.

2015 Telegraph-Jrnl. (New Brunswick) (Nexis) 3 Sept. c1 He wrote the jazz standard ‘Bluesette’, which he originally played on the guitar while whistling the melody an octave higher.

(b) intransitive.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > the arts > music > composing music > compose music [verb (intransitive)]

write1672

1672 M. Locke Observ. Ess. Advancem. Mus. 14 Our certain Method of the Scale; which never gives..occasion for..writing in improper Keys.

1789 C. Burney Gen. Hist. Music III. 109 Tallis and Bird had..long accustomed themselves to write for voices.

1886 Musical Times Dec. 712/1 If I write for orchestra in B flat, the brass band will play in C.

1967 Financial Times 21 Mar. 30/1 Two preceding works in which Berg wrote for orchestra for the first time.

2004 P. Taylor Listening Tests for Students 6 There are the same two types of question, but here you may have to show your ability to write in staff notation.

b. transitive. Computing. To compose the code of (a computer program); to compose (computer code).

ΚΠ

1948 W. J. Eckert in B. Randell Origins Digital Computers (1973) v. 219/1 The calculator reads ‘written’ instructions for performing the most complex calculations.]

1951 Summary Papers Seminar Data Handling & Automatic Computing (Office of Naval Research, U.S. Dept. of Navy) 76 In order to write such a procedure the programmer must learn the logic of the computer.

1999 Personal Computer World July 158/1 As free software written by enthusiasts, Linux returns Unix to its..origins.

2016 M. Sample in H. Lowood & R. Guins Debugging Game Hist. vii. 53 Programmers write code; machines enact it.

21. In technical use in business and finance.

a. transitive. To accept (a liability or risk) under the terms of an insurance policy; to underwrite (an insurance policy). Cf. underwrite v.¹ 2b.

ΘΚΠ

society > trade and finance > financial dealings > insurance > insure [verb (transitive)] > insurance policy operations

underwrite1622

adjust1720

load1867

sub-underwrite1895

claim1897

twist1906

insure1911

write1931

1823 Morning Chron. 18 Dec. I asked that underwriter about it, who said they were his initials, but he did not write the risk, and advised me not to do it.

1931 Times 14 Mar. 12/6 Not all insurance companies have felt justified in writing the risks.

1967 Listener 6 July 14/3 The company was still writing insurance in eleven American states.

2006 Business Insurance (Nexis) 9 Jan. 20 Certain industries, though, fall into hazard classes for which not as many carriers are willing to write the risks.

b. transitive. Originally U.S. Business (now chiefly Stock Market). To make (an option) available for purchase by creating a contract; to enter into (an option contract) with a buyer; to sell (an option).

ΘΚΠ

society > trade and finance > stocks and shares > deal in stocks and shares [verb (transitive)] > specific operations

subscribe1618

to take up1655

to sell out1721

to take in1721

to take up1740

pool?1780

capitalize1797

put1814

feed1818

to vote (the) stock (or shares)1819

corner1836

to sell short1852

promote1853

recapitalize1856

refund1857

float1865

water1865

margin1870

unload1870

acquire1877

maintain1881

syndicate1882

scalp1886

pyramid1888

underwrite1889

oversubscribe1891

joint-stock1894

wash1895

write1908

mark1911

split1927

marry1931

stag1935

unwind1958

short1959

preplace1966

unitize1970

bed and breakfast1974

index-link1974

warehouse1977

daisy-chain1979

strip1981

greenmail1984

pull1986

1908 Bee (Earlington, Kentucky) 18 June For the past two weeks agents have been writing options on this land wherever the chance is offered.

1934 B. Winfield Put & Call Trading Guide i. 1 The difference between the market at the time the option is written and the price at which the writer agrees to buy or sell stock at a later date.

1959 H. Filer Understanding Put & Call Options 119 The amount received for writing the option (premium) constitutes an offset against the amount paid in determining the net cost basis of the security purchased.

1989 European Investor Feb. 70/1 The market maker who wrote you the option could have sold the shares on your behalf and paid you the difference.

2003 D. L. Scott Wall St. Words 282 For example, an investor holding shares of BP can earn premium income by writing covered call options that give the buyer of the calls the right to purchase the option writer's BP shares at a fixed price until a stated date.

22.

†a. intransitive. To form a good (bad, etc.) subject for writing. With complement specifying the particular quality. Cf. paint v.¹ 1g. Obsolete. rare.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > the arts > literature > art or occupation of writer or author > follow occupation of writer [verb (intransitive)] > be described in writing

write1827

1827 Lady Morgan Diary 23 Nov. in Memoirs (1862) II. xvii. 247 The comfortless, unaccommodating reality of those times which paint and write so well.

b. intransitive. With the written text as subject: to be written; to have a specified written form; (also) to have a specified character or quality; to produce a certain impression when read (cf. read v. 22b). rare.

ΘΚΠ

society > communication > writing > state of having been written > be written [verb (intransitive)]

appearc1531

come1582

to go down1734

write1862

1862 O. Cockayne Seinte Marherete p. v The manuscripts..write straight away from end to end of the ruled lines.

2010 Toronto Star (Nexis) 6 Apr. 1 [He] asked the panel not to allow the victim-impact statement, saying ‘it writes like hysteria.’

2020 @MistressofPun 5 Sept. in twitter.com (accessed 16 Mar. 2021) So much online banking, I forgot what my signature writes like.

23. transitive. Originally South African. To take (a written examination).Common in African, Canadian, Caribbean, and South Asian English. Not in standard use in United States, British, Irish, Australian, and New Zealand English.

ΘΚΠ

society > education > educational administration > examination > examine a candidate [verb (transitive)] > take examination

to go in1845

sit1859

write1943

1943 ‘J. Burger’ Black Man's Burden 173 The examinations at Fort Hare are the same as those written by European students in the other constituent colleges of the University.

1971 Sunday Express (Johannesburg) 28 Mar. (Home Jrnl.) 14/2 My daughter is writing Matric this year.

1974 Advocate-News (Barbados) 19 Feb. 1/1 Students from Government primary schools will now write the Common Entrance Examination at their respective schools.

2021 Times of India (Nexis) 26 Mar. Barring 40 final year students who are writing their exams, all others were asked to vacate the campus.

IV. To state, communicate, or describe (something) in writing, and related senses.

24.

a. To state, relate, or assert (something) in writing; to set down an account or record of (facts, circumstances, events, etc.).

(a) transitive. With clause introduced by that, what, how, etc., or with words directly quoted, as object.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > language > statement > state or declare [verb (transitive)] > in writing

writeeOE

speak?c1225

society > communication > record > written record > record in writing [verb (transitive)]

writeeOE

awriteeOE

markOE

titlea1325

record1340

registera1393

accordc1450

chronicle1460

to write upa1475

calendar1487

enrol1530

prickc1540

scripture1540

to set down1562

report1600

reservea1616

tabulatea1646

to take down1651

actuate1658

to commit to writing (also paper)1695

to mark down1881

slate1883

eOE (Kentish) Will of Abba (Sawyer 1482) in N. P. Brooks & S. E. Kelly Charters of Christ Church Canterbury, Pt. 2 (2013) 663 Ic Abba geroefa cyðe & writan hate hu min willa is þæt mon ymb min ærfe gedoe.

OE tr. Bede Eccl. Hist. (Cambr. Univ. Libr.) i. viii. 42 Writeð Eutropius þæt Constantinus se casere wære on Breotone acenned.

?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 36 Leteð writen on an scrouwe hwet se ȝe ne cunnen.

a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) Prol. l. 41 If noman write hou that it stode, The pris of hem that weren goode Scholde..Be lost.

1576 T. Hill Moste Pleasaunte Arte Interpretacion of Dreames (new ed.) sig. I.i Others write that hee died of a greate anger whiche he toke agaynst a Burgeys of that Cittye.

1615 G. Sandys Relation of Journey 218 Some write that Cyprus was so named..of Cyrus.

1686 Let. 22 May in J. Grant Seafield Corr. 1685–1708 (1912) 25 They write that..their fleet sailed from the Texel.

1729 tr. P. Gilles Antiquities of Constantinople 13 Suetonius..writes, that the City was divided into Streets and Wards.

1847 W. M. Thackeray Vanity Fair (1848) xxiv. 207 ‘I shall expect you at half-past five,’ Captain Dobbin wrote.

1850 Ld. Tennyson In Memoriam vi. 6 One writes, that ‘Other friends remain’.

1959 F. Sondern Brotherhood of Evil vii. 102 Various reporters have written that this tradition has long since been wiped out.

2018 St. Louis (Missouri) Post-Dispatch (Nexis) 28 Dec. a1 In a Facebook post..her mother wrote that her ‘baby girl gained her wings and is now an angel’.

(b) transitive. With pronoun, noun, or noun phrase as object.

ΚΠ

OE tr. Bede Eccl. Hist. (Cambr. Univ. Libr.) Pref. ii. 4 Þæt ic be ðam halgan fæder Cuðbyrhte wrat oððe on þysse bec oððe on oðre, þa dæda his lifes.

lOE Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Laud) anno 1086 Fela þinga we magon writan þe on ðam ilcan geare gewordene wæron.

c1275 (?c1250) Owl & Nightingale (Calig.) (1935) l. 1756 Þar he demeþ manie riȝht dom An diht & writ [a1300 Jesus Oxf. wryt] mani wisdom.

c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) l. 6793 As it is of hire iwrite, & of ire holi fame.

a1400 (c1303) R. Mannyng Handlyng Synne (Harl.) l. 8970 Þere..Þey dede to wryte yn boke þys chaunce.

1559 R. Sadler & J. Croft Let. 24 Oct. in T. Wright Queen Elizabeth & her Times (1838) I. 17 We woll not write it for gospell that their power is so greate.

1568 T. Hacket tr. A. Thevet New Found Worlde xxvii. f. 35^v There resteth nowe to wright that, the which we haue learned.

1643 K. Digby Observ. Religio Medici 44 To peruse what I have written at full upon this point.

1671 J. Webster Metallographia i. 12 The Collegium Conimbricense are perswaded that he writ the truth.

a1715 Bp. G. Burnet Hist. Own Time (1724) I. 14 Whose life is so curiously writ by Thomas Hubert.

1794 J. H. Moore New Pract. Navigator (ed. 10) 169 Occurrences which are written on the log-board.

1897 Cassell's Mag. 14 382/1 Some of those men, the war correspondents, did write a lot of rubbish about our good spirits.

1948 R. Chandler Let. 7 May in Sel. Lett. (1987) 113 A critic who could write that drivel about O'Neill's drivel is hors concours.

2008 D. Ebershoff 19th Wife (2009) 363 You say in your letter the historian writes the truth. Forgive me, I must disagree.

b. transitive. To communicate (information, greetings, etc.) by letter; to send (a message) in writing. Typically with the recipient specified as an indirect object, or in a prepositional phrase introduced by to, unto.Frequently with the information or message expressed in a clause introduced by that, what, how, etc., used either as object (e.g. quot. 1875) or as a complement of word (e.g. quot. 1662).In quot. ?c1225 in figurative context.

ΘΚΠ

society > communication > correspondence > letter-writing > write (a letter) [verb (transitive)] > write (something) in a letter

writeOE

epistle1596

OE tr. Alexander's Let. to Aristotle (1995) §5. 226 Ic nu þas þing write to þe gemænelice & to Olimphiade minre meder.

?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 284 He..wrot wið hisachne blod. Saluz to his leofmon.

a1300 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Caius) 38 Seint eilred wrat to his suster þat an is pinsunge iflesh..wid disciplines..þe oþer is heorte þeawes.

a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 17843 We sal yow write..All þat we herd and sagh.

1415 in 43rd Ann. Rep. Deputy Keeper Public Rec. (1882) App. i. 588 in Parl. Papers (C. 3425) XXXVI. 1 I hafe wretyn to zowe al yat I knaw.

c1440 (?a1400) Morte Arthure l. 3904 (MED) In a mette-while a messangere he sendes, And wraite vnto Waynor how the werlde chaungede.

c1450 (c1350) Alexander & Dindimus (Bodl.) (1929) l. 24 (MED) Þe gentil Genosophistiens..To þe Emperour Alixandre here answerus wreten.

?1472 E. Paston in Paston Lett. & Papers (2004) I. 635 I wrythe to ȝow the very cause why.

1561 T. Hoby tr. B. Castiglione Courtyer ii. sig. S.iiii^v He wrott vnto the Duke,..he would..put a medicin vpon his gunnstones.

1598 W. Shakespeare Henry IV, Pt. 1 iv. i. 31 He writes me here that [etc.] .

1616 R. Cocks Diary 8 July (1883) I. 150 They wrot me how the Portingals had 4 gallions.

1662 E. Stillingfleet Origines Sacræ i. iv. §11 Alexander..writ word to his Mother he had found out [etc.].

a1706 J. Evelyn Life Mrs. Godolphin (1939) 52 She writes me..what Conflicts she had indur'd.

1769 H. Brooke Fool of Quality IV. xvii. 32 Your brother writ me an account of your fatal falling away.

1833 J. H. Newman Lett. & Corr. (1891) I. 434 I had..written to Rose how we had best start agitating.

1850 D. M. Mulock Olive xxv You will..write me word how it looks.

1875 B. Meadows Clin. Observ. 69 [She] writes me that she is very much better.

1957 A. MacLeish Let. 9 July (1983) 400 We have heard: his Secy writes that he is out of town but implies that he will be back before our date.

2014 Vanity Fair Dec. 191/2 ‘I think he adds to the gaiety of nations,’ Paxman wrote to me in an e-mail.

c. transitive. figurative and in figurative contexts, with reference to some fact, narrative, state of affairs, etc., being indicated by or discernible in features of the visible world. Usually in passive. Cf. sense 9. Now rare.Typically with reference to the idea that nature is a book containing information or instructions about God's will; see book n. 6a and cf. esp. quots. 1574, 1605, and 1745.

ΚΠ

c1405 (c1390) G. Chaucer Man of Law's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 93 Perauenture in thilke large book Which þ^t men clepe the heuene, ywriten was With sterres..That he for loue sholde han his deth allas.

1587 Sir P. Sidney & A. Golding tr. P. de Mornay Trewnesse Christian Relig. v. 66 We haue read in nature that there is but one God, as a thing which we finde written euen in the least creatures.

1609 W. Shakespeare Sonnets xciii. sig. F4 The falce hearts history Is writ in moods and frounes and wrinckles strange.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Antony & Cleopatra (1623) v. i. 22 That selfe-hand Which writ his Honor in the Acts it did.

a1680 S. Charnock Several Disc. Existence of God (1682) 814 Those Testimonies of it [sc. God's patience], which were written in showers, and fruitful seasons.

1781 W. Cowper Expostulation 311 Is adverse providence, when ponder'd well, So dimly writ, or difficult to spell.

1869 E. A. Freeman Hist. Norman Conquest III. xiv. 355 The great tale of which it became the theatre is legibly written on its natural features.

1919 N. Amer. Rev. Nov. 680 The creed is written in the leaves of the trees.

1994 Sunday Tel. 3 July 19/7 God's message was written in nature and you had to learn to read it.

25. In particular constructions corresponding to the transitive uses in sense 24.

a. intransitive. With so or thus as pro-forms in place of the reported words, information, or message. Cf. say v.¹ 3a(b).

ΚΠ

OE Ælfric Catholic Homilies: 2nd Ser. (Cambr. Gg.3.28) xviii. 175 Ðus wrat hieronimus, se wisa trahtnere be ðære halgan rode, hu heo wearð gefunden.

a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 11467 For þe prophet had written sua, And said [etc.].

a1439 J. Lydgate Fall of Princes (Bodl. 263) ix. l. 1294 The kyng..With strong [emended in ed. to stronge] hond cam into Normandie..Gat the castel; took his brother oute; Emprisowned hym of verray force & myht; Lefft hym allone out of mennys siht Fourteene yeer, the cronicle writ so.

1594 Willobie his Auisa f. 57^v After a long & melancholike deliberation, he wrate againe so as followeth.

1605 W. Camden Remaines ii. 11 To one..he wrighteth thus. Discendi [etc.].

a1616 W. Shakespeare Coriolanus (1623) v. iii. 146 Whose Chronicle thus writ, The man was Noble.

1730 A. Gordon tr. F. S. Maffei Compl. Hist. Anc. Amphitheatres 95 Thus has one of those foul-mouth'd Poets wrote.

1770 D. Dalrymple in G. Bannatyne Anc. Sc. Poems 310 The Cardinal..writes thus to Cardinal Borromeo, 24th November 1561.

1874 J. A. Symonds Sketches Italy & Greece 121 While I am writing thus about the production..of these love-songs.

1901 W. B. Yeats Let. 10 Dec. (1994) III. 134 She..thought that he had refused it and wrote so to me.

1992 J. Burchill Sex & Sensibility p. xvii Mr Bennion wrote thus to the Guardian.

b. intransitive. In parenthetic clauses introduced by as. Cf. say v.¹ 1b.

ΚΠ

1489 (a1380) J. Barbour Bruce (Adv.) i. 525 Then slayn wes mony thowsand.., As Dares in his buk he wrate.

a1538 T. Starkey Dial. Pole & Lupset (1989) 56 Thys hath destroyd more then any pestylens as lyvius wrytyth.

1696 Seafield's Corr. (1912) 176 For newes, as Sr. James wreits to your Lo[rdshi]pe, ther is non.

1736 F. Drake Eboracum ii. ii. 529 A fine piece of masonry [in York Minster] in form of a wheel, or as Mr. Torre writes a marygold, from whence it is called the marygold window.

1865 Sporting Rev. Aug. 130 Cricket and practical jokes seemed to have gone hand-in-hand together. As Horace writes: ‘Ludere qui nescit campestribus abstinet armis.’

1982 J. Culler On Deconstruction (1983) ii. 185 If, as Derrida writes, ‘before being a rhetorical procedure within language, metaphor were thus the emergence of language itself’, then the critic cannot simply describe the functioning of figurative language within the text.

2017 Hedgehog Rev. Summer 93/1 Through ritual play, as Huizinga writes, ‘something invisible and inactual takes beautiful, actual, holy form.’

26.

a. transitive. To give a written description of (something); to describe or depict in writing. Now archaic and rare.

ΘΚΠ

society > communication > writing > [verb (transitive)] > describe in writing

writeOE

pena1527

pursue1558

thumbnail1932

OE Ælfric Homily (Corpus Cambr. 162) in J. C. Pope Homilies of Ælfric (1967) I. 327 Hys wundra næron awritene ealle, ac þa ane man wrat þe mihton genihtsumian mannum to hæle.

a1225 (c1200) Vices & Virtues (1888) 19 Ne mai ic þenchen,..ne on boke write, alle ðo pinen of helle.

a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) (1965) Ecclus. xlii. 7 Þe ȝyuen thing forsoþe & þe taken: al discriue or wrijt.

c1449 R. Pecock Repressor (1860) 55 Putte God upon him the veniauncis writun in this book.

1572 W. Malim in tr. N. Martinengo True Rep. Famagosta Ded. sig. Aij^v Men being first enforced to write their actes and monumentes in beastes skinnes dryed, in barkes of trees, or otherwise perchaunce as vnreadily.

1609 W. Shakespeare Sonnets xvii. sig. B4^v If I could write the beauty of your eyes.

1636 E. Dacres tr. N. Machiavel Disc. Livy II. 545 Things which they have done, that lived in the manner above written.

1792 Select. Misc. Pieces 54 To write the Love of God above, Would drain the ocean dry.

2012 @MorroGee 14 Aug. in twitter.com (accessed 13 June 2021) If all the water of the oceans became ink, it will not be enough to write the Greatness of ALLAH!!

b. transitive. To treat (something) as the subject for a written exposition or discussion; to expound on; (also) to take (something) as a topic, theme, etc., for literary work.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > the arts > literature > prose > non-fiction > treatise or dissertation > write treatise about or treat of [verb (transitive)]

writeOE

handleOE

treatc1325

treatc1374

entreatc1425

treatise1506

tract1529

pertract1542

overharl1568

entracta1572

to speak to ——1610

OE West Saxon Gospels: John (Corpus Cambr.) i. 45 We gemetton ðone Hælend Iosepes sunu of Nazareth, þone wrat Moyses & þa witegan on ðære æ.

a1300 (c1275) Physiologus (1991) l. 513 In boke is ðe turtres lif writen o rime.

?a1425 tr. Guy de Chauliac Grande Chirurgie (Hunterian) (1994) 17 (MED) Seþ þat þe anothomie of simpel members..be writen, nowe wille y write þe anothomie of singuler members þe whiche ben compounde.

a1450 (a1338) R. Mannyng Chron. (Lamb.) (1887) l. 10412 (MED) More wirschip of hym [sc. Arthur] was Þan of any of þat spekes Gildas, Or of any þat Bede wrote.

1597 T. Morley Plaine & Easie Introd. Musicke 152 Those who haue of late daies written the art of musicke.

1713 H. Felton Diss. Reading Classics Contents sig. Aiv^v The Difficulties of writing History.

1737 A. Pope Epist. of Horace ii. i. 9 Ev'ry flow'ry Courtier writ Romance.

1821 Ld. Byron Diary 29 Jan. in Poet. Wks. (1846) 505/1 They talk Dante—write Dante—and think and dream Dante.

1921 G. S. Brett Hist. Psychol. II. iv. iv. 355 His acute remarks on the nature of religions have led some writers to describe him as the first to write the psychology of religion.

2003 Contemp. European Hist. 12 328 It is obviously always possible to write the history of Europe, as it is to write that of a single country.

c. transitive. To give expression to (one's feelings, thoughts, etc.) through writing; to express in written form.

ΚΠ

a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(1)) (1850) Job xiii. 26 Thou writist aȝen me bitternessis.

a1450 Lessons of Dirige (Digby) l. 146 in J. Kail 26 Polit. Poems (1904) 112 Lord..aȝens me þou doest wryte Bitternesse, bote swete is past.

c1450 J. Capgrave Life St. Augustine (1910) 25 He took a peyre tables, and wroot in þe wax al his desir.

1524 Queen Margaret Let. in M. A. E. Wood Lett. Royal Ladies Great Brit. (1846) I. 319 I did write my mind plainly to you.

1653 I. Walton Compl. Angler i. 29 God..[allowed] those..to write his holy will in holy writ.

1748 S. Richardson Clarissa VI. xcix. 338 My heart is full, and I can't help writing my mind.

1798 Ld. Nelson in A. Duncan Life Nelson (1806) 96 Buonaparte writes his distress for stores.

1840 in D. G. Barrie & S. Broomhall Police Courts in 19th Cent. Scotl. I. iii. 213 I wrote my mind on a large sheet of paper.

1927 T. S. Eliot Elizabethan Ess. (1934) 50 The great poet, in writing himself, writes his time.

2013 Irish Times 30 Nov. (Weekend section) 12 Desmond's death released Penelope to a new life. She grieved, and she wrote her grief.

27. transitive. To ordain, decree; to prophesy. Usually in passive with dummy it as subject, e.g. It was written in the stars.In quot. 1484 intransitive in a parenthetic clause introduced by as (cf. sense 25).

ΘΚΠ

society > authority > command > command or bidding > command [verb (transitive)] > ordain, prescribe, or appoint

asetc885

teachc897

deemc900

ashapea1000

i-demeOE

setc1000

shiftc1000

stevenOE

redeOE

willOE

lookc1175

showc1175

stablea1300

devise1303

terminea1325

shapec1330

stightlea1375

determinec1384

judgea1387

sign1389

assize1393

statute1397

commanda1400

decree1399

yarka1400

writec1405

decreetc1425

rule1447

stallc1460

constitute1481

assignc1485

institute1485

prescribec1487

constitue1489

destinate1490

to lay down1493

make?a1513

call1523

plant1529

allot1532

stint1533

determ1535

appointa1538

destinec1540

prescrive1552

lot1560

fore-appoint1561

nominate1564

to set down1576

refer1590

sort1592

doom1594

fit1600

dictate1606

determinate1636

inordera1641

state1647

fix1660

direct1816

the mind > mental capacity > expectation > foresight, foreknowledge > prediction, foretelling > inspired prophecy > prophesy [verb (transitive)]

prophesy1372

betoken1382

prophetize?a1400

spaea1400

tella1400

writec1405

ossc1450

destiny?1549

fore-prophesy1581

forewarn1582

vaticinate1652

c1405 (c1385) G. Chaucer Knight's Tale (Hengwrt) (1868) l. 2350 Among the goddes hye it is affermed And by eterne word writen and confermed Thou shalt be wedded vn to oon of tho That han for thee so muche care and wo.

1484 W. Caxton tr. G. de la Tour-Landry Bk. Knight of Tower (1971) lxxvi. 107 It was done as the kynge had wreton.

1560 Bible (Geneva) 1 Esdras vi. 17 King Cyrus wrote that this House shulde be buylt vp.

1676 J. Dryden Aureng-Zebe i. 14 'Tis writ in Fate, I can be onely yours.

1843 G. Borrow Bible in Spain III. xvii. 364 ‘It was not so written,’ said Antonio, who..was a fatalist.

1902 ‘Roma White’ Backsheesh xvii. 280 That which is written is written. It is stronger than I. So let it be.

1997 R. Fortey Life x. 278 The new catastrophism, in which the fate of the Earth is once again written in the stars.

2009 W. Blackgrave Here, there, & back Again (e-book, accessed 13 June 2021) i. 3 The Arabs have a saying that what was written for our lives cannot be changed because it was written by God as soon as we have a soul.

V. To call or style a person by a particular title in writing, and related senses.

28. With complement specifying the title or designation.

a. transitive. To describe or designate (a person) in writing as a particular thing or as belonging to a specified class; to call, style, or term (someone). Now archaic.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > language > naming > give a name to [verb (transitive)] > call or give as name to > in writing

writea1382

a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(1)) (1850) Jer. xxii. 30 Writ this man a bareyn man [L. scribe virum istum sterilem; 1611 Write ye this man childlesse], that in his daȝes shal not be welsum.

1535 Bible (Coverdale) 1 Macc. x. 65 The kynge..wrote him amonge his chefe frendes [L. scripsit eum inter primos amicos].

1583 Sir T. Smith's De Republica Anglorum i. xxiii. 30 If one were a knight they would write him..sir Iohn Finch knight.

1654 R. Whitlock Ζωοτομία 186 The Invention or Advance of most Arts write [sic] the despised Scholler Creditor.

1687 R. L'Estrange Answer to Let. to Dissenter 47 The Author Writes himself a Church-of-England-Man.

1719 R. Steele Spinster 135 I write myself spinster, because the laws of my country call me so.

1820 W. Scott Abbot I. i. 14 One whom heaven had written childless.

1869 Sporting Gaz. 27 Feb. 147/1 Randolph proved himself what I wrote him to be, a very fast greyhound.

1991 E. Champlin Final Judgm. iv. 73 There we see an emancipated son who wrote himself heir at his father's behest.

b. transitive (reflexive). To designate oneself by a particular title in documents, letters, etc.; (also more generally) to call or style oneself. Cf. Phrases 2a(b).

ΘΚΠ

the mind > language > naming > name [verb (reflexive)] > designate in writing

write1420

1420 in T. Rymer Fœdera (1709) IX. 919 We shull not Nempne or Wryte Us Kyng of France.

c1540 J. Bellenden tr. Livy Hist. Rome (1903) II. iv. ix. 81 He..wrate him self consul [L. se..consulem scripserit].

1548 Hall's Vnion: Edward IV f. cxciij Duke Reiner..writyng hymself kyng of Naples, Scicile, and Jerusalem.

1570 B. Googe tr. T. Kirchmeyer Popish Kingdome i. f. 4 Therefore doth he wright, Himselfe as heyre apparent to the Empire.

1649 J. Milton Observations in Articles of Peace with Irish Rebels 54 These write themselves the Presbytery of Belfast.

1678 Life Black Prince in Harleian Misc. (1809) III. 151 John, duke of Lancaster..wrote himself king of Castile and Leon.

1678 J. Godolphin Repertorium Canonicum ii. 13 He [sc. the Archbishop of Canterbury] writes himself Divina Providentia, whereas other Bishops only use Divina Permissione.

1770 P. Luckombe Conc. Hist. Printing 94 St. Giles's, Cripplegate,..of which church he wrote himself vicar in 1566.

1818 W. Scott Heart of Mid-Lothian vii, in Tales of my Landlord 2nd Ser. I. 192 A man of law, Nichil Novit, writing himself procurator before the Sheriff-court.

1857 A. Trollope Barchester Towers xx In due process of time he took his degree, and wrote himself B.A.

1880 J. Ruskin Bible of Amiens (1884) i. 3 Why should..a little Frankish maid [sc. Amiens] write herself the sister of Venice?

1922 G. Hookham Will o' the Wisp 73 The words clearly refer to himself, and make nonsense on any other supposition: so there we have it in black and white: he [sc. Bacon] wrote himself a ‘concealed poet’.

2016 Indian Express (Nexis) 21 Apr. Immediately after the so-called Second Sikh War, Lord Dalhousie, as he writes himself, rushed to Lahore, took the Kohinoor from Lawrence, tied it in a belt around his stomach, and quickly took it to Calcutta.

c. transitive (reflexive). To sign oneself; to use as one's signature (the name or form specified by the complement).

ΘΚΠ

the mind > language > naming > name [verb (reflexive)] > in writing

write1590

1590 J. Penry Treat. Reformation sig. 3^v The names of their Honors..I doe for the reverence whiche I owe vnto hir Maiesties government conceale, saue only Iohn Cant. (as he writeth himself).

1691 A. Wood Athenæ Oxonienses I. 19 Thomas Nightingale, who writes himself Philomelus, was born in London.

1730 Magna Britannia V. 522/2 Andrew Borde, in Latin, Andreas Perforatus, as he wrote himself, was a Native of this Town.

1821 W. Scott Kenilworth I. ix. 232 This same Demetrius, for so he wrote himself when in foreign parts.

1859 W. N. Sainsbury Orig. Unpubl. Papers Sir Peter Paul Rubens 2 (note) Adam Van Noort, for so he wrote himself on his pictures.

1911 J. M. Barrie Peter & Wendy v. 80 James Hook, or as he wrote himself, Jas. Hook.

2021 @LovelyF47769049 5 June in twitter.com (accessed 16 June 2021) The authors are fake names and the ‘group’ is in fact only one person, David Evans or ‘David Evans’, as he wrote himself.

†29. transitive. To adopt (a particular title or style) in designating oneself. Cf. Phrases 2a(a). Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > language > naming > give a name to [verb (transitive)] > employ in naming oneself

write1554

1554–5 Act 1 & 2 Philip & Mary c. 8 §19 in Statutes of Realm (1963) IV. i. 252 Where yo^r Highnes Sovereigne Lady since yo^r comming to the Crowne of this Realme, of a good and Christen Conscience omitted to write the said Stile of Supremacye, specified in one Acte made in the Parlm^t holden at Westminster by prorogacion in the xxxv^th yere of the Raigne of yo^r late Father King Henry Theight.

1573 J. Bridges Supremacie Christian Princes 344 No king of the Iewes wrote this title of supreme head or gouernour.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Henry VI, Pt. 1 (1623) iv. vii. 74 The Turke that two and fiftie Kingdomes hath, Writes not so tedious a Stile as this.

a1669 F. Howgill Dawnings of Gospel-day (1676) 441 Cletus the third Bishop of Rome, was the first that wrote this Title.

†30. transitive. To be or attain (a specified age). Also intransitive with of. Obsolete.In quot. 1831 reflexive with the age expressed as a complement (cf. sense 28, Phrases 2a(b)).

ΚΠ

a1594 R. Greenham Wks. (1612) 660 A man may write of 70 yeeres... Halfe that time is spent they say in sleepe.

a1637 B. Jonson Under-woods ii. i. 3 in Wks. (1640) III Though I now write fiftie yeares, I have had, and have my Peeres.

1829 W. Scott Anne of Geierstein II. ii. 32 The elder, well-sized, and dark-visaged, may write fifty and five years.

1831 W. Scott Castle Dangerous v, in Tales of my Landlord 4th Ser. III. 323 The governor had attained his thirtieth year..and his lieutenant did not yet write himself one-and-twenty.

Phrases

P1. Phrases (chiefly figurative) specifying the particular surface for writing.

a. In figurative expressions in which the heart is the surface written on, describing spiritual knowledge or influence, with reference to the heart as the seat of a person's soul or spirit. Usually with heart as the object in a prepositional phrase, e.g. in our hearts, on their hearts. rare after early 18th cent.

ΚΠ

a1225 (?OE) MS Vesp. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 235 [Jesus Christ] þe sceolde his aȝen wille..in ure heorte write.

a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 25586 Suete iesu..þi pines in vr hertes write.

a1425 (a1400) in M. Day Wheatley MS (1921) 1 If my hert be hard as stoon, Yhit may thow goostely write þeroon.

a1450 (a1400) Medit. Life & Passion of Christ (BL Add.) (1921) l. 1350 Loue þat art so mykel of myȝt, Writ in myn herte þat reuful syȝt.

?1544 J. Bale Epist. Exhortatorye f. vi At your trayterouse insurrection in the northe it had bene wronge with this realme, had there not bene a great nombre which had than the feare of God written in theyr hartes.

1599 J. Davies Nosce Teipsum 84 All these true notes of Immortalitie, In our Hearts Tables we shall written find.

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.

1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost xii. 489 A Comforter..the Law of Faith..upon thir hearts shall write .

1709 E. Baynard Advice to Claret-Drinkers Pass by a Tavern-door, my Son, This sacred Truth write on thy Heart; 'Tis easier, Company to shun, Than at a Pint it is to part.

1976 E. W. Gritsch & R. W. Jenson Lutheranism xiv. 200 A law continuously written on the heart by God's Spirit might command one specific possibility in every situation of choice.

†b. to write in windows of: to create a record of (one's deeds) in stained glass church windows. Obsolete.Only in Langland, where the practice is deprecated as vainglorious and an attempt to purchase absolution.

ΚΠ

c1390 (a1376) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Vernon) (1867) A. iii. l. 62 I lere ȝou..such writynge ȝe leue, To writen in Wyndouwes of ȝoure wel dedes.

c1400 (c1378) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Laud 581) (1869) B. iii. l. 65 (MED) God to alle good folke suche grauynge defendeth To writen in wyndowes of here wel dedes, On auenture pruyde be peynted þere and pompe of þe worlde.

c. Used in various figurative phrases referring to writing on a changeable or shifting substance such as dust, sand, water, or air, to indicate the absence of an enduring record of something, or that a promise or undertaking has not been honoured or adhered to. Frequently in passive constructions, as in written in sand. See also to write in (also on) water at water n. Phrases 2m.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > hiding, concealing from view > keeping from knowledge > keeping from publication > leave no record [verb (intransitive)]

writea1535

a1535 T. More Hist. Richard III in Wks. (1557) 57/2 For men vse if they haue an euil turne, to write it in marble: & whoso doth vs a good tourne, we write it in duste.

1590 T. Lodge Rosalynde: Euphues Golden Legacie f. 4 Sick mens wills that are parole, and haue neither hand nor seale, are like the lawes of a Citie written in dust.

1620 F. Beaumont & J. Fletcher Phylaster v. 57 All your better deedes shall be in water writ; but this in marble.

1795 J. Nott tr. Catullus Poems II. lxvii. 113 What..are woman's vows? Fit to be written but on air, Or on the stream!

1821 J. Keats in Poet. Wks. (1876) p. xxx Here lies one whose name was writ in water.

a1849 J. C. Mangan Coll. Wks.: Poems (1997) III. 136 Oh! let not your vow Have been written in sand!

1935 R. A. Knox Barchester Pilgrimage Prol. 1 The promises of authors are written in sand; they must be allowed their afterthoughts.

2019 @AngelaTopping 28 Oct. in twitter.com (accessed 22 Feb. 2021) So does everyone now realise he doesn't mean a word he says? His promises are written on the water.

P2. Phrases with a particular object of the verb.

†a.

(a) to write man (also to write woman): to be entitled on account of one's age to call oneself a man (or woman). Cf. sense 29. Obsolete.

ΚΠ

1600 W. Shakespeare Henry IV, Pt. 2 i. ii. 26 As if he had writte man euer since his father was a batcheler.

1672 M. Locke Observ. Ess. Advancem. Mus. 2 When I began to write Man, and had convers'd in the world.

1673 R. Allestree Ladies Calling Pref. sig. b2 All mankind is the Pupil and Disciple of Female Institution: the Daughters till they write women.

1781 C. Johnstone Hist. John Juniper II. 219 Just as I had written man; or..was of age.

(b) to write oneself man: (also to write oneself woman): to be entitled on account of one's age to call oneself a man (or woman). Also more generally: to claim to possess the attributes of manhood (or womanhood). Cf. sense 28b. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > people > person > adult > be adult [verb (intransitive)] > become adult > become adult man

bearda1425

to wax to man's estate1590

unboy1611

to write oneself man1641

the world > people > person > adult > be adult [verb (intransitive)] > become adult > become adult woman

to put up, turn up (one's) hair1662

to write oneself woman1729

1641 T. Jordan Pictures of Passions, Fancies, & Affections sig. B6 Of all our Martial Evils he's the worst, Who fain would write himself Man if he durst.

1650 S. Sheppard Amandus & Sophronia i. i. 2 Comming unto yeares of maturitie (so that now without prejudice to Truth he might write himselfe, Man) he seemed, some golden Casket repleat with Diamonds.

1660 J. Fell Life Hammond (1661) 3 He grew the Tutor of those who begun to write themselves men.

1663 R. Head Hic et Ubique iv. ii. 45 Now since I write my self Man, go thy way.

1729 Applebee's Orig. Weekly-Jrnl. 4 Jan. A studious Application to the several Arts of Cookery, Picking, Preserving, Candying, Jellying and Pastry, must be learn'd before the Pupills, could entirely shake of the Appellation of Misses, or dare to write themselves Women.

1823 W. Scott Quentin Durward III. i. 23 Thou wilt be mad with vanity ere thou writest thyself man.

1903 Everybody's Mag. Oct. 517/1 He who saves himself in some sudden hurricane of money, and keeps his proper feet, may write himself a man indeed.

b. to write the book (on): see book n. Phrases 2q. to write policy: see policy n.² 1c. to write one's own ticket: see ticket n.¹ 5d.

P3. Other phrases.

(a) writ (also written) large: displayed or expressed in a prominent way or to striking extent.After Milton's use in quot. 1673, where the sense is ‘written at length or more fully’.

ΘΚΠ

society > communication > writing > state of having been written > [adjective] > written prominently

written with a sunbeam (or in sunbeams)1626

writ (also written) large1826

1673 J. Milton On New Forcers of Conscience in Poems (new ed.) 69 New Presbyter is but Old Priest writ Large.]

1826 E. Irving Babylon I. i. 54 It [sc. the Revelation of John] is also certain parts of the book of Daniel writ large.

1866 ‘G. Eliot’ Felix Holt I. viii. 203 The man was no more than the boy writ large, with an extensive commentary.

1932 W. Lewis Creatures of Habit (1989) 193 The ideology of Progress is writ large all over the Communist propaganda of ‘machine-mindedness’.

1983 M. Cook Muhammad iii. 27 Near Eastern gods were often human beings writ large: they had bodies of human shape, quarrelled, behaved irresponsibly when drunk, and so forth.

2015 P. Hawkins Girl on Train 154 She gave me a hug. Niceness writ large.

(b) With large replaced by another complement, as writ double, writ small, etc.

ΚΠ

1863 Freeman's Jrnl. (Dublin) 24 Oct. The most honeyed panegyrics, that ever flowed from the lips of Massilion over the bier of a dead Bourbon were modesty writ small compared to any articulate gentleman from New York or Boston.

1951 E. Barker Princ. Social & Polit. Theory i. 39 Corporativism may be defined as syndicalism writ double.

1959 Times 25 Feb. 11/2 This year's Defence White Paper..is last year's writ quietly.

2005 New Yorker 7 Nov. 120/2 It became the world writ small, miniature valleys and mountains, square inches of variegated detail.

2018 Philippines Daily Inquirer (Nexis) 4 Apr. What we see today on the internet is a kind of Gresham's law writ global as bad ideas and fake news drive away the good, reliable ones.

b. colloquial.

(a) to be written all over (a person or thing): (of a quality, attribute, feeling, etc.) to be clearly discernible from the appearance of (a person or thing); (of an emotion) to be apparent from (a person's face or expression). Esp. in to be written all over one's face. Cf. sense 9.

ΘΚΠ

society > communication > indication > [verb (passive)] > be plainly indicated

to be written all over (a person or thing)1838

to have (something) written all over him, her, it, etc.1859

1838 Virginia Free Press 3 May All was as nice as wax, and yet as substantial as iron; comfort was written all over the room.

1839 Northern Whig 15 Oct. 4/2 Marry! no; Dolly 'ull never marry. There always was an old look about her; there's the old-maid written all over her.

1914 ‘I. Hay’ Knight on Wheels (ed. 2) xxix. 292 It must be written all over me if you can spot it... Yes, you are right... I'm in love.

1992 J. Torrington Swing Hammer Swing! xxxi. 281 I was a walking zero, a complete zilch with loser written all over me.

2014 MailOnline (Nexis) 28 Mar. Tori's troubles are written all over her face.

(b) to have (something) written all over him, her, it, etc.: to clearly display (a particular attribute, quality, influence, etc.).

ΘΚΠ

society > communication > indication > [verb (passive)] > be plainly indicated

to be written all over (a person or thing)1838

to have (something) written all over him, her, it, etc.1859

1859 Charleston (S. Carolina) Mercury 19 Apr. No one would need to be told that he was a soldier. He has it written all over him, from head to foot.

1903 W. D. Howells Lett. Home xxiv. 147 A tall, gaunt figure of a man two vacant seats away, who had Down East written all over his fisherman's face and his clothing-store best.

1931 Amer. Mercury Feb. 167/1 He just had down-and-outer written all over him.

1979 J. Gardner Nostradamus Traitor vi. 20 One was with her... Had DDR written all over him.

2013 Guardian 5 Jan. (Guide Suppl.) Central Listings 4/1 A dense, powerful 1950s saga that has ‘masterpiece’ written all over it.

c. colloquial (originally and chiefly North American). (and) that's all she wrote and variants: expressing finality or closure; ‘that's it.’ [Probably originally in reference to the notion of a woman writing a letter to inform her husband or lover that their relationship was over; the phrase was likely popularized by its use in various songs of the 1940s (apparently earliest in Ernest Tubb's 1942 song That's all she Wrote).]

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > completing > completed or finished [phrase]

over with1822

(and) that's all she wrote1935

1935 Brownsville (Texas) Herald 16 June 1/1 The assessor-collectors do not have the power, the commissioners' courts do not have the power. That's all she wrote and it's final, the attorney general says in language much more eloquent and technical.

1966 R. Guy Bird at my Window i. 14 All that rot-gut whiskey, mixes up with a lot of shit and then some stud comes around blowing gage, man, and that's all she wrote.

1993 Globe & Mail (Toronto) (Nexis) 16 Aug. That was all she wrote for the three-time British Open champion when he missed his birdie put.

2005 R. Hoban Come dance with Me xix. 112 Either of them makes a mistake and Whammo! that's all she wrote.

d. history is written by the victors: see history n. Phrases 2c. to write home about: see home adv. Phrases 6. not worth the paper it's written on: see paper n. 1d. written with a sunbeam: see sunbeam n. Phrases.

Phrasal verbs

With adverbs in specialized senses. to write back

a. intransitive. To reply to a letter or other written communication.

ΘΚΠ

society > communication > correspondence > letter-writing > write a letter [verb (intransitive)] > in reply

rescribe?1462

to write back1550

1550 W. Lynne tr. J. Funke Actes & Hist. Worlde 1532–50 in tr. J. Carion Thre Bks. Cronicles f. cclxii^v He wrote back vnto the Disputers and Auditours of the Euangelicall doctrine, desyrynge to haue their counsayll in this matter.

1656 J. Fowler Hist. Troubles Suethland & Poland 93 Duke Charles, not satisfied with this literary assecuration, wrote back unto the King.

1736 Weekly Oracle 208/2 Caligula, now mad with Rage, wrote back to Petronius in the severest Language.

1851 tr. F. Guizot Monk & Washington 86 Exacting a promise that he would not write back to him.

1916 T. S. Eliot Let. 10 Jan. (1988) I. 126 I wrote back asking for terms.

1976 Dædalus Winter 41 She writes back promptly with some sensible-seeming advice.

2018 M. Hanna-Attisha What Eyes don't See viii. 108 But even Roebuck didn't write back. That was a shock. Techies are always connected to devices and superresponsive.

b. transitive. To write (something) as an answer or reply to a letter or other written communication. Chiefly with that-clause or direct quotation of the written text as object.

ΚΠ

1595 A. Hartwell tr. G. T. Minadoi Hist. Warres Turkes & Persians 16 And therefore he wrote back againe, that he was mynded to take the rightfull succession vpon him.

1676 I. Newton Let. 10 Jan. in Corr. (1959) I. 410 [I] wrote back to you that I had no mind to meddle with it.

1790 T. Lindsey Let. 15 May (2012) II. 53 It was agreed in a College-committee, that a letter should be written to signify to M^r Wakefield the terms proposed for any one who should fill the place of classical Tutor, and the person who was to mention it to him, was to write back his sentiments.

1831 Mrs. Arbuthnot Let. 18 Feb. in C. Arbuthnot Corr. (1941) 140 The old housekeeper wrote to her something about it, & she wrote back word, ‘God's will be done.’

1892 Tennyson in Mem. (1897) II. 423 I have just had a letter from a man who wants my opinion as to whether Shakespeare's plays were written by Bacon. I feel inclined to write back, ‘Sir, don't be a fool’.

1949 D. Smith I Capture Castle (1995) xi. 190 Neil wrote back:..I shall be tickled to death to have you for a sister-in-law. Love from Neil.

2007 New Yorker 9 Apr. 88/2 Borgese sent some sheets of Arli's typing to a poetry critic, who wrote back that the dog had a ‘definite affinity with the “concretist” groups in Brazil, Scotland, and Germany’.

2. transitive. Finance. To reintroduce (a sum) into an account as either profit or loss; (now) spec. to restore to profit (a provision for bad or doubtful debts, tax, or other liabilities previously made against profits and no longer required). Cf. write-back n.

ΚΠ

1635 R. Dafforne Merchants Mirrour sig. X2 For the parcells discharge, entred the 13. of March, which being agreed upon, I write back––3067 Guil[ders].

1640 R. Dafforne Apprentices Time-Entertainer 37 Suppose the Conditioned Time to be expired, and the Accepting Man detaineth the mony at Interest; How?..This may be written back from the first accompt of Trafficke.

1653 J. Collins Introd. Merchants Accts. sig. D^v To Iames Blisset owing by him for goods sold, for the which goods have credit, and is here wrote back.

1777 in G. Rous Restoration King of Tanjore Considered App. xxx. 122 The balance due from him.., which had been before that date carried to his credit, and since wrote back to his debit, was Pagodas 9,38,347.

1832 Minutes of Evid. Select Comm. Affairs E. India Company II. i. 5 in Parl. Papers 1831–2 (H.C. 735-II) X. 1 The 700,000 l. advanced..must be written back as a charge upon the Indian revenue, and no longer stand as a supply to London.

1849 Accountants' Rep. 2 in Rep. Comm. Investig. to Shareholders Eastern Counties' Railway Company This sum was held bonâ fide in reserve until the half-year ending 4th July, 1846, when it was written back to the credit of Revenue.

1899 Afr. Rev. 24 June 536 Amounts charged in Profit and Loss Account of previous years for Depreciation of Shares and Investments not now required and written back.

1918 Bull. National Tax Assoc. Nov. 42/2 Where an asset has been written down but the sum written off is not allowed as a deduction for the purposes of the income tax, it may be written back for the purpose of increase of capital.

2000 Ann. Rep. & Accts. (Cable & Wireless) 53 The Group wrote back £46m of the original provision.

to write down

1. transitive. To set down (words, thoughts, information, etc.) in writing; to express or record (something) in written form; to make a note of (something); to jot down.

ΘΚΠ

society > communication > writing > [verb (transitive)] > set down in writing

adighteOE

to set on writea900

dightc1000

writeOE

brevea1225

layc1330

indite1340

take1418

annote1449

printa1450

scribe1465

redact?a1475

reduce1485

letter1504

recite1523

to commit to writing (also paper)1529

pen1530

reduce?1533

token up1535

scripture1540

titulea1550

to set down1562

quote1573

to put down1574

paper1594

to write down1594

apprehend1611

fix1630

exarate1656

depose1668

put1910

1594 W. Shakespeare Titus Andronicus ii. iv. 3 Write downe thy minde bewray thy meaning so.

c1595 First Pt. Reign Richard II (1929) iii. 54 Yo^u & I will heere shadowe o^r selues & writ downe ther speches.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Winter's Tale (1623) iv. iv. 560 Things knowne betwixt vs three, Ile write you downe.

1682 in W. R. Scott Rec. Sc. Cloth Manufactory New Mills (1905) 40 He gives out wool to scrubleing and writes itt down.

1711 R. Steele Spectator No. 155. ⁋2 I will..write down all they say to me.

1751 R. Paltock Life Peter Wilkins I. Introd. p. xi For the Purpose of writing down his Life from his own Mouth.

1853 C. Dickens Bleak House xvii. 161 I write down these opinions, not because I believe that [etc.].

1891 W. Briggs & G. H. Bryan Elements Coordinate Geom.: Pt. 1 143 This enables us to write down at once the equation.

1983 C. Voigt Callender Papers (1989) xi. 157 He took out a little notebook and apologized, ‘I'll never remember if I don't write it down.’

2015 N. Carr Glass Cage (2016) i. 10 Explicit knowledge, which is also known as declarative knowledge, is the stuff you can actually write down: how to change a flat tire [etc.].

2. transitive (reflexive). With complement. To call oneself or make oneself appear to be a specified thing. Cf. sense Phrases 2a(b).

ΚΠ

1600 W. Shakespeare Much Ado about Nothing iv. ii. 73 O that he were here to write me downe an asse!

1604 W. Shakespeare Hamlet i. ii. 222 We did thinke it writ downe in our dutie To let you knowe of it.

1653 H. More Antidote against Atheisme i. ii. 6 It can be nothing but his grosse ignorance in this kind of Arithmetick that shall embolden him to write himself down gainer and not me.

1854 C. J. Lever Dodd Family Abroad xvi. 138 It's like writing yourself down Goth at once to oppose these.

1934 H. L. Beales & R. S. Lambert Mem. Unemployed 60 I looked at myself in the mirror and wrote myself down as a ghastly failure.

2013 National Post (Canada) (Nexis) 8 Aug. (Arts & Life section) a6 I had to write myself down a skeptic.

†a. transitive (reflexive). To diminish or destroy one's reputation through what one has written; esp. to damage one's literary reputation by publishing inferior work. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > the arts > literature > art or occupation of writer or author > make one's way by writing [verb (reflexive)] > damage one's reputation by writing

to write down1716

the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > disrepute > damage to reputation > degrading or debasement > degrade oneself or stoop [verb (reflexive)] > by inferior writing

to write down1716

1716 J. Addison Free-holder No. 40. There is not a more melancholly Object in the Learned World, than a Man who has written himself down.

1809 B. H. Malkin tr. A. R. Le Sage Adventures Gil Blas I. ii. vii. 250 He has written himself down at a terrible rate by his last publication.

1844 John Bull 30 Nov. 759/3 Mr. James is in no danger of writing himself out.., but does he not think he is in some danger of writing himself down.

1890 Northern Echo 1 Dec. 2/7 Nr. Parnell has performed the feat of writing himself down.

1914 Times Lit. Suppl. 4 June 2/3 Reade, vain and apt to write himself down in the act of writing himself up, was all but consistently the worst foe of his reputation.

b. transitive. To disparage or criticize (a person) in writing; to write disparagingly or depreciatively of. Also intransitive. Cf. to write up 5 at Phrasal verbs.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > disrepute > damage to reputation > disparagement or depreciation > disparage or depreciate [verb (transitive)] > in writing

to rhyme to death1681

to write down1726

1726 J. Swift Let. 27 Nov. in Corr. (1963) III. 187 However, one thing I was pleased with, that after you had writ me down, you repented, and writ me up.

1773 S. Johnson in J. Boswell Jrnl. Tour Hebr. 1 Oct. (1785) 338 It was said to old Bentley, upon the attacks against him, ‘Why, they'll write you down.’ ‘No, sir,..no man was ever written down but by himself.’

1850 H. Walter Tindale's Answer More Introd. Notice 2 This effort to write down Tyndale and his labours.

1877 W. Stubbs 17 Lect. Study Hist. (1886) v. 110 It seems..that no man's zeal is roused to write unless it is moved by the desire to write down.

1944 L. Mumford Condition of Man vii. 245 Bacon has been unfairly written down because he showed little comprehension of the important work being done by his contemporaries.

2020 @CloverWind_ 6 Sept. in twitter.com (accessed 16 Mar. 2021) He was written down, demoted from RB and yet he didn't lose heart and put in his performance. This guy has some heart.

†c. transitive. To defeat or bring down (a government) through pamphleteering or writing in the press. Obsolete.Apparently only in occasional, ad hoc use.

ΚΠ

1798 Monthly Mag. Jan. 49 [Wilkes] actually wrote down at least one administration.

?1825 Emancipation & Emancipators 17 You Sir wish to write down the government.

a. intransitive. Of an author, esp. of literary works: to adapt one's style in order to attract readers of supposedly less sophisticated taste or literary appreciation, or address a less knowledgeable readership. Often with the implication of a condescending or patronizing attitude on the part of the author. Often with to indicating the readership. Cf. sense 15d, to write up 4 at Phrasal verbs.

ΚΠ

1809 B. H. Malkin tr. A. R. Le Sage Adventures Gil Blas IV. xi. vii. 311 I should be sorry to write down to their comprehension.

1861 J. Pycroft Ways & Words 33 Authors will learn to write down to the lowest standard.

1903 A. Bennett Truth about Author xii. 150 I had entered into a compact with myself that I would never ‘write down’ to the public in a long fiction.

1960 Guardian 25 Feb. 6/4 English writers seem to write down to their readers and American writers write as if addressing their equals.

2009 Australian (Nexis) 4 Mar. (Lit. Rev. ed.) 20 Hartnett has often said that she will not ‘write down’ or make concessions [in her novels].

b. transitive (in passive). Of a literary work: to be written in a style adapted to readers of supposedly less sophisticated taste or literary appreciation, or designed to address a less knowledgeable readership.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > the arts > literature > style of language or writing > weakness or feebleness > weaken [verb (transitive)]

water1529

emasculate1608

wire-draw1660

to water down1832

to write down1876

sanitize1934

pasteurize1951

saccharinize1971

1876 C. M. Yonge Womankind xxviii. 243 Books..which do not dwarf the mind as a series of books written down are apt to do.

1958 I. F. Stone's Weekly 2 June 3/1 The pamphlet is written down, in the condescending, ‘Auntie Knows Best’ manner to which Mr. Acheson became habituated at the State Department.

1990 Families for Literacy Program (Calif. State Libr. Devel. Services) 8 This resistance seemed to be overcome when the materials introduced were simplified for reading to children and not perceived as being ‘written down’ in order to address the reading level of the parent.

5. transitive. Finance. To reduce the nominal value of (stock, goods, etc.).

ΘΚΠ

society > trade and finance > management of money > keeping accounts > keep accounts [verb (transitive)] > enter in an account > other book-keeping procedures

control1422

avouch1539

allocate1551

respond1588

score1592

carry1652

post1707

to carry forward1721

off-reckon1721

O. Ni.a1726

to carry over1745

rule1845

to write down1876

to close off188.

qualify1884

accrue1915

net1947

gross1954

strip1980

1876 Liverpool Mercury 12 Jan. 8/3 There is...no dividend for the past year, and it is proposed to write down the capital account to the extent of £5 per share.

1897 Westm. Gaz. 8 Sept. 6/1 The assets have been written down in a drastic manner.

1934 Accounting Rev. 9 121/2 It is not ‘conservative’ to write down the balance sheet valuations of depreciable and amortizable assets below bona fide cost.

2003 Daily Tel. 22 Apr. 32/4 But goodwill is, at best, an unexact science and the group has already written down the carrying value of its fixed assets.

to write in

†1. transitive. Apparently: to give a title or subtitle to (a book). Obsolete.

ΚΠ

a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) (1963) Kings Prol. l. 78 Þerfore Sapiens þat comunly is writyn in of Salamon & of Jesu þe sone of Syrak & þe booc of Judith & tobie & pastor ben not in þe canown.

a. transitive. To insert (words or information) into a document, list, etc. Cf. sense 16e.In quot. c1384: to inscribe (words) on a surface.

ΘΚΠ

society > communication > writing > [verb (transitive)] > insert in writing

to write inc1384

insert1533

set1535

ascribe1648

append1843

c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Royal) (1850) Apoc. xxi. 12 It hadde a wal..and in the ȝatis of it twelue aungels, and names writun in.

1463 in S. Tymms Wills & Inventories Bury St. Edmunds (1850) 42 A book of papyr to wryte in expensis.

1546 S. Gardiner Detection Deuils Sophistrie f. xxxvi^v Bicause it is worthye many readynges, I haue ben the rather persuaded, to write in, the originall in greke.

1797 Christie's Catal. Hogarth's Wks. 5 1. Portrait of Hogarth with a dog. 2. Ditto, the head touched upon by Hogarth, and the name, &c. written in by himself.

1863 M. E. Braddon Eleanor's Victory I. 108 All the great scenes have been written in by him.

1895 S. R. Crockett Men of Moss-hags liv. 390 It was a moment's work to write in the other name [on a pardon].

1903 Athenæum 3 Jan. 10/2 The date is written in by the rubricator.

2008 Star Tribune (Minneapolis) (Nexis) 7 Mar. 1 a Jahnke allegedly whited out BAC (Burnsville Athletic Club) on checks and wrote in his name.

b. transitive. Originally U.S. To insert (the name of an unlisted person) on a ballot, as the candidate of one's choice. Cf. write-in n., write-in adj.

ΘΚΠ

society > authority > office > appointment to office > choosing or fact of being chosen for office > choose for office [verb (transitive)] > enter name of unlisted candidate

to write in1920

1920 Woman Citizen (N.Y.) 1 May 1213/2 You did not want to vote for him. You scratched out his name and you wrote in the name of the Democratic candidate.

1932 Sun (Baltimore) 23 Aug. 2/2 He knew nothing of the circulation of cards in the Middle West urging voters to write in Smith's name on the Presidential ballot.

1957 Ann. Reg. 1956 174 Democratic voters ‘wrote in’ their preference for Mr. Stevenson over Senator Kefauver in the proportions of 8 to 5.

2018 Dayton (Ohio) Daily News (Nexis) 13 Apr. c9 I just voted for the all-time Kent State baseball team and your name wasn't on the ballot. I was going to write in your name but there was no place for it.

a. intransitive. To send a letter or similar communication to a newspaper, business, or other organization, typically with a request, suggestion, etc.Apparently originally in theatrical contexts.

ΘΚΠ

society > communication > correspondence > letter-writing > write a letter [verb (intransitive)]

writeOE

epistolize1650

to write in1834

letter1861

1834 New Monthly Mag. May 51 The time that elapsed between his last application to Drury-lane and his appearance was many months, for he ‘wrote in’, as it is termed, from Exeter about the early part of the summer of 1813, acted first in London, January 26th, 1814.

1949 N. Marsh Swing, Brother, Swing ix. 209 It's a mystery, that paper... The types that write in are amazing.

1957 M. McCarthy in New Yorker 23 Mar. 76/2 I wrote in for a Vogue pattern to make a tennis dress.

1972 Listener 28 Dec. 904/3 If anyone else doesn't know.…write in and I'll explain.

2013 T. Thorn Bedsit Disco Queen 314 Q thought this was hilarious, that a band would actually write in to the letters page to slag off their own record.

b. transitive. To send (a letter) to a newspaper, business, or other organization; to submit.

ΚΠ

1903 Evening News (Portsmouth) 2 Feb. (Fourth ed.) 3/6 l am glad one of your readers wrote in his letter inquiring why lamp-posts had been put up but no lights.

1928 Publishers' Weekly 14 July 183 The customers..were not slow about writing in their suggestions.

2020 Guardian (Nexis) 20 Oct. (T.V. & Radio section) There was also an episode on testicular cancer where a viewer wrote in a letter after it was aired saying that they had tested themselves while watching.

to write off

†a. transitive. Banking. To authorize a withdrawal, payment, or transfer of (a specified sum) from one's account. Obsolete.

ΚΠ

1635 R. Dafforne Merchants Mirrour 14 Suppose the charges that you did at the first sending were writ off from his above-named Roan account, unto his account Currant.

1682 J. Scarlett Stile of Exchanges 107 To send the..Bill to the House of the Acceptant, and desire him to order that the Value be write of in Bank.

1751 W. Beawes Lex Mercatoria Rediviva 363 Write off from my Bank Book, one hundred and fifty-seven Pounds.

1810 T. Mortimer Gen. Dict. Commerce, Trade, & Manuf. at Bank One of the clerks..writes off the sum required.

b. transitive. Finance. To cancel the record of (a bad debt); to acknowledge the loss of or failure to recover (an asset). Also (often with against), with reference to the reduction of one's taxable income equivalent to the value of certain allowed losses.

ΘΚΠ

society > trade and finance > management of money > keeping accounts > keep accounts [verb (transitive)] > cancelling due balance or debt

to write off1815

to cover into the Treasury1868

1815 H. G. Hilbers Statement 43 I should write off the loss, but I never could prevail upon myself to give him the bitter reflection of having thus calumniated me, and the £3,911. 0s. 2d. always remained open upon the books.

1891 Law Times 90 283/2 The company wrote off the loss as a bad debt.

1927 Jrnl. Accountancy Mar. 177 If the picture is a failure and does not earn out the advance the distributor may have to write off the loss.

1978 Time 4 Dec. 74/1 Shelters enable people to generate paper losses to write off against their regular income, thus shielding their cash from the full bite of the IRS.

1992 Sky Mag. (Delta Airlines) Dec. 95/2 When your income exceeds $150,000, you can write off your losses only against..your rental income.

2010 Wall St. Jrnl. 18 Oct. c7/2 Delinquencies are loans that may be written off in the future.

a. To compose and send a letter or similar communication. Usually followed by a prepositional phrase introduced by to, indicating the recipient. Cf. earlier to write over 2 at Phrasal verbs.

(a) intransitive.

ΚΠ

1751 J. Crump Reply D. Molloy's Libel 4 On the Publication of Molloy's Libel, on Tuesday the 4th of December, I wrote off to London. My Letters of said Date did not arrive there until the 19th of said Month.

1772 J. Gough tr. J. M. B. de la M. Guyon Life Lady Guion II. ii. xv. 69 Our adversaries immediately writ off to Paris. A hundred ridiculous stories were circulated about this journey; comedies were acted on it, things invented at pleasure, and as false as any in the world could be.

1855 C. Kingsley Westward Ho! xv He wrote off to Frank at Whitehall.

1866 C. J. Lever Sir Brook Fossbrooke II. 283 I..have written off to Tom Lendrick to come over here with his sister.

1944 M. Irwin Young Bess (1956) xvii. 183 [He] wrote off to Jane's parents to have her returned to his care and his mother's chaperonage.

2020 @HRedpigs 5 May in twitter.com (accessed 11 May 2021) I wanted to be a medic, I wrote off to the @RoyalNavy, @BritishArmy, and @RoyalAirForce, the RN wrote back first.

(b) transitive.

ΚΠ

1847 Punch 16 Oct. 147/1 What does Mrs. Punch do—unbeknownst to her lord and master—but write off a letter to X. Y. Z., care of the bookmaker, Haymarket.

1956 J. Kerouac Let. 5 Jan. in Sel. Lett. 1940–56 (1995) 535 Just wrote off my four letters to the district rangers up in Wash. Applying for the fire-spotting jobs.

2006 Sunday Mirror (Nexis) 29 Oct. 20 After writing off letters to lots of actors he finally got sponsorship from Silence of the Lambs Oscar-winner Anthony Hopkins.

b. intransitive. With for. To request (something) by mail; to send off a mail-order request for.

ΚΠ

1862 Family Friend Midsummer 472/1 I have written off for a post-chaise.

1894 Royal Cornwall Gaz. 5 July 4/7 I saw there an account of the cure of a young girl who had been cured by Dr. Williams' Pink Pills for Pale People. I wrote off for a box.

1968 Times 11 Dec. 7/6 To catch the Christmas post you must write off for a catalogue.

2000 Coventry Evening Tel. (Nexis) 5 Dec. 30 If you like this recipe and would like to try others, why not write off for a free copy of the ‘Cooking With Lyle’ or ‘Icing Made Easy’ booklets.

3. transitive. To compose (a written text, as a letter, a poem, etc.) with speed, haste, or great facility. Now rare.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > the arts > literature > art or occupation of writer or author > be the author of or write (a work) [verb (transitive)] > compose hastily

scribble1576

palter1588

to throw together1646

dash1726

dash off, out1786

to run off1809

to strike off1821

to write off1841

1841 S. Warren Ten Thousand a-Year III. iv. 171 Kate..wrote off..a heart-rending letter to good old Lady Stratton.

1862 W. M. Thackeray Adventures of Philip II. xii. 279 Philip was writing off at home, in his inn, one of his grand tirades, dated ‘Paris, Thursday’—so as to be in time, you understand, for the post of Saturday.

1919 A. Safroni-Middleton Gabrielle of Lagoon vi. 102 He sat down by the bamboo table and wrote off a poem. He was so much in love that even the poem was good.

1938 C. Headlam Diary 10 Apr. in S. Ball Parl. & Politics in Age Churchill & Attlee (1999) ii. 127 There is such a spate of books nowadays about current topics... Most of them are pretty poor stuff—written off by journalists who either like or dislike dictators.

4. figurative, To dismiss (something or someone) as insignificant, worthless, or not worthy of consideration.Probably originally an extension of sense 1.

a. transitive. With complement introduced by as, indicating how the person or thing in question is viewed.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > attention and judgement > inattention > ignoring, disregard > ignore, disregard [verb (transitive)]

fordita800

forheedc1275

forget1297

to let out ofa1300

spele1338

to go beside ——a1382

waivec1400

remiss?a1425

to go by ——?c1450

misknowledge?a1475

misknow1483

misken1494

to go besides ——1530

to let pass1530

unregard1545

unmind1562

overlook1570

mislippen1581

suspend1581

omit1589

blanch1605

to blow off1631

disregard1641

to pass with ——1641

to give (a person or thing) the go-by1654

prescind1654

nihilify1656

proscribe1680

unnotice1776

ignore1795

to close one's mind1797

cushion1818

to leave out in the cold1839

overslaugh1846

unheed1847

to write off1861

to look through ——1894

scrub1943

the mind > language > statement > refusal > [verb (transitive)] > dismiss from consideration

forheedc1275

sequesterc1380

forlaya1400

to lay awaya1400

to put, set or lay byc1425

to lay by1439

to lay asidec1440

to set, lay, put apart1477

bar1481

to lay apart1526

to throw out1576

disclude1586

to fling aside1587

to fling away1587

exclude1593

daff1598

to throw by1644

eliminate1850

to write off1861

to filter out1934

slam-dunk1975

1861 Belfast News-let. 2 Feb. It is no longer the subtle schemer we have to guard against, but him and the daring crowd, who set truth at defiance or write it off as folly.

1939 Fortune Nov. 94/1 The way in which the broadcasters scooped the newspapers on the Athenia sinking might be written off as beginner's luck.

1963 L. MacNeice Var Parable (1965) i. 21 A suspension of antipathy towards its author's attitude will give weight to what otherwise might be written off as whimsical.

2002 Independent 25 Mar. 8/2 It is easy to write him off as a boring, grey bank manager.

b. transitive. Without complement.

ΚΠ

1913 Daily Mail 3 Nov. 6/4 ‘Of course, one has to take the pot-luck every time; but I've always had the luck so far.’..He deliberately placed the possibility of the ‘pot’ part in the background or wrote it off completely in his optimism.

1963 Times 16 Feb. 9/3 The campaign cannot be written off because of the hamfistedness of its beginnings.

1998 Girls' Life Oct. 36/2 From the title of this film, we thought it might be a real snoozer. But don't be so fast to write it off.

2013 T. Creed Redstone Station iv. 27 Who are we to write off a young bloke?

a. transitive. colloquial (originally Air Force slang). To damage (something) beyond repair; to wreck, destroy; (now usually) to leave (a vehicle) so damaged as to be beyond repair or not worth repairing.Originating in the slang of the Royal Flying Corps and the Australian Flying Corps during the First World War (1914–18).Not in common use in the United States.

ΘΚΠ

the world > existence and causation > creation > destruction > damage > damage or injure [verb (transitive)] > beyond repair (a car, etc.)

total1895

to write off1919

scuttle1941

cream1972

1919 R. H. Reece Night Bombing with Bedouins vi. 90 But as a pilot I was a complete failure; I ‘wrote off’ several machines and in my last crash I nearly ‘wrote off’ myself.

1942 N. Balchin Darkness falls from Air ii. 44 They seemed to be dropping a hell of a lot of stuff... I saw next morning that they'd written off a pub in Notting Hill.

1973 C. Bonington Next Horizon xi. 166 She had crashed the car twice, writing it off completely on the second occasion.

2020 Taranaki (N.Z.) Daily News (Nexis) 21 Aug. 4 A drink-driver mounted the footpath and clipped a power box before crossing a New Plymouth intersection and smashing into a brick wall, writing off his car.

b. transitive (reflexive). slang (originally and chiefly Australian). To get very drunk; spec. to incapacitate oneself with a hangover.

ΚΠ

1970 J. Hibberd White with Wire Wheels in A. Buzo et al. Plays 219 Boy, am I going to write myself off tonight!

2000 Daily Tel. (Sydney) (Nexis) 23 Apr. 57 Toowoomba only trained twice a week, so I'd go out on the town and write myself off.

2018 Border Mail (Austral.) (Nexis) 30 Nov. He was drinking every day pretty much, he'd write himself off on weekends.

to write out

1. transitive. To make a full transcription or written version of (something); spec. to make a fair copy of (a document); to produce a full or formal version of (notes, minutes, etc.). Cf. to write up 1c at Phrasal verbs.

ΘΚΠ

society > communication > writing > manner of writing > [verb (transitive)] > write out at length

to write outa1400

to set out1545

extenda1639

expand1894

a1400 (a1388) tr. Richard of Wallingford Exafrenon (Trin. Cambr.) f. 172 Ȝif þu wolt haue þe entre of þe sunne into eny signe..write out þe day & þe houre & þe minute.

1548 T. Cooper Bibliotheca Eliotæ (rev. ed.) at Describo To write out a boke by an other mans copie.

1632 R. Burton Anat. Melancholy (ed. 4) Democritus to Rdr. 12 Allowing him sixe or seuen Amanuenses to write out his dictats.

a1700 in Publ. Catholic Rec. Soc. (1911) 9 336 His Bookes, w[hi]ch she write out and faithfully practised.

1776 Trial Maha Rajah Nundocomar for Forgery 41/1 The writer wrote out a Persian bond.

1809 B. H. Malkin tr. A. R. Le Sage Adventures Gil Blas III. vii. xii. 154 I..offered to write his memorials out fair.

1877 W. Smith & H. Wace Dict. Christian Biogr. I. 208 Atticus..wrote out his sermons and learnt them by heart.

1930 J. Buchan Castle Gay xi. 172 He retired to the inn..to write out his notes.

1977 J. M. Levine Dr. Woodward's Shield iv. 70 He kept a copy for himself, fairly written out and intended clearly for the possibility of publication.

2020 C. Atkins Bit of Stretch iii. 68 The IT revolution has clearly passed Wandsworth by, as the slips have all been written out by hand.

2. transitive (reflexive). To exhaust one's powers of writing; spec. to run out of material or ideas for literary work. Cf. outwrite v. 4.

ΘΚΠ

society > communication > writing > manner of writing > [verb (transitive)] > exhaust by excessive writing

to write out1738

overwrite1752

outwrite1883

society > leisure > the arts > literature > art or occupation of writer or author > make one's way by writing [verb (reflexive)] > exhaust one's ideas by writing

to write out1738

1738 City Corruption & Mal-administration Display'd 13 But was I to write myself out, I have Matter sufficient to fill a Volume.

1817 Edinb. Monthly Mag. Aug. 519/2 We have heard fears expressed, that Miss Edgeworth might have written herself out.

1832 W. Scott St. Ronan's Well (new ed.) p. vii The Author had exhausted himself, or, as the technical phrase expresses it, written himself out.

1905 Author 1 Feb. 152 He has written himself out.

2021 @FoloWatkins 4 Jan. in twitter.com (accessed 22 Mar. 2021) Going to bed. I've written myself out today.

3. transitive. To remove (a character) from a long-running story or series, typically by introducing a storyline which accounts for their absence. Sometimes also applied to other distinctive elements of the story's imaginary world. Cf. sense 14c.

ΘΚΠ

society > communication > broadcasting > putting on or producing broadcast > put on or produce broadcast [verb (transitive)] > write script > write out character

to write out1967

1967 Listener 13 Apr. 503/2 That [sc. the Forsyte] Saga is now more than half way through (Saturdays, BBC-2)... Some of the old characters have been written out.

1971 O. Norton Corpse-bird Cries i. 2 You got them to write you out for a bit.

1982 A. Road Doctor Who: Making of TV Series 16/1 Eric Saward was asked..in the course of his story..to ‘write out’ the Doctor's sonic screwdriver.

to write over

1. transitive. To rewrite (something), usually in order to make improvements to the content or (esp. in early use) to produce a fair copy. Cf. overwrite v. 4.Not in common use after early 20th cent.

ΘΚΠ

society > communication > writing > manner of writing > rewriting > rewrite [verb (transitive)]

to write over1555

rescribe1565

rewrite1603

repen1615

rework1837

overwrite1874

1555 R. Eden tr. Peter Martyr of Angleria Decades of Newe Worlde i. x. f. 48 This order haue I appoynted, lest I shulde bee compelled often times to wryte ouer the hole woorke, or sende yowe the same defaced with blottes and interlynynge.

1591 in I. W. Archer et al. Relig., Politics, & Society in 16th-cent. Eng. (2003) 243 I will forfeyte nothing yf, uppon the windes' change, the wordes that are written over doe alter.

1597 W. Shakespeare Richard III iii. vi. 5 This is the indictment...Eleuen houres I spent to wryte it ouer .

a1645 Ld. Napier Mem. (1793) 51 They might gaine some tyme in wreating them [sc. articles of accusation] over to consult vpon the mater.

1710 J. Swift Tale of Tub (ed. 5) Apol. sig. a*2^v He [sc. the Author] had however a blotted Copy by him, which he intended to have writ over, with many Alterations.

?1751 Earl of Chatham Lett. to Nephew (1804) i. 1 I am extremely pleased with your translation now it is writ over fair.

1859 Testimony Case of Ford against Everts for Slander 15 Mrs. Ford called one day with a paper and made so many alterations that she wrote it over again.

1911 A. C. Ray Woman with Purpose ix. 92 ‘And you want me to write it over?’ There came a tired drop in Dorcas's voice. Writing it over meant a delay of many, many weeks.

2012 @Leah_Ellis21 13 Apr. in twitter.com (accessed 16 Apr. 2021) When i dont like the way i wrote something, ill write it over until its perfect lol.

†2. intransitive. To compose and send a letter. Cf. to write off 2a at Phrasal verbs. Obsolete.

ΚΠ

1569 R. Grafton Chron. I. vii. 72 The king writing ouer to his sonne, required him that I should lyue in safetie and peace.

1577 W. Harrison Descr. Eng. (1878) iii. i. ii. 10 He wrote ouer for more of the same fish.

†3. transitive. To put writing on or over (a surface, other writing, etc.); to cover with writing; = overwrite v. 2b. Frequently with with. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

society > communication > writing > [verb (transitive)] > cover with writing

writec1225

to write over1649

overwrite1820

1649 R. Baxter Saints Everlasting Rest (new ed.) iv. xi. 535 When they are grown up in sin, they are like the same paper written over with falshoods; which must all be bloted out again, and truth written in the place.

1828 R. Duppa Trav. Italy 9 I saw MSS. of some of the Codes..written over with monkish commentaries.

to write up

a. transitive. To give a written account of (a matter, an event, etc.); (now often) to publish a report or review of (something) in a newspaper, magazine, etc.

ΘΚΠ

society > communication > record > written record > record in writing [verb (transitive)]

writeeOE

awriteeOE

markOE

titlea1325

record1340

registera1393

accordc1450

chronicle1460

to write upa1475

calendar1487

enrol1530

prickc1540

scripture1540

to set down1562

report1600

reservea1616

tabulatea1646

to take down1651

actuate1658

to commit to writing (also paper)1695

to mark down1881

slate1883

society > leisure > the arts > literature > prose > narrative or story > tell (story) [verb (transitive)] > tell story of

record1340

to write upa1475

to story out1570

to story forth1591

story1610

yarn1840

a1475 Bk. Curtasye (Sloane 1986) l. 551 in Babees Bk. (2002) i. 317 Þat þo clerke of kechyn schulde not mys, Þer-fore þo countrollour..Wrytes vp þo somme as euery day, And helpes to count.

a1530 (c1425) Andrew of Wyntoun Oryg. Cron. Scotl. (Royal) ix. l. 1177 I wyll noucht wryt wp all, That I hawe sene in my tyme fall.

1535 Bible (Coverdale) Rest of Esther xii. B Mardocheus wrote vp the same matter.

1592 T. Tymme Plaine Discouerie Ten Eng. Lepers G 3 b The Divell that playeth host in this worlde..writeth up all in his booke.

1658 J. Durham Comm. Bk. Revelation iii. 186 As if He had keeped a Diarie of every event, and had written up every word and action of men.

1767 New Mod. Story Teller I. 239 Mr. Heartwell wrote up the whole account of his conduct to the admiralty.

1887 J. Hawthorne Tragic Myst. ii After interviewing the sentry..they departed to write up the tragedy.

1904 W. B. Yeats Let. 17 Dec. (1994) III. 687 Masefield comes over to write up the Theatre & the pictures.

1977 Times Lit. Suppl. 4 Feb. 125/1 Research workers and journalists are increasingly lying their way into hospitals with the intention of writing up their experiences.

2011 Private Eye 4 Mar. 7/3 Giddens visited Libya in the summer of 2006 at the personal invitation of Colonel Gaddafi.., and wrote up their three-hour conversation.

b. transitive. To bring (a diary, log, or other written record) up to date.

ΘΚΠ

society > communication > record > written record > record in writing [verb (transitive)] > bring up to date

to write up1736

1736 J. Mair Book-keeping Methodiz'd i. 9 Nor can the Waste-book answer this Design; for being written up in the Time of Business, and commonly too by different Hands; it can neither be fair and uniform, nor very accurate.

1839 H. W. Longfellow Hyperion II. iii. v He..writes up the journal neglected for a week or two.

1848 J. Hannay Biscuits & Grog 19 Now that we..have little to do, suppose we write up our logs?

1903 Indian Law Rep. Madras Ser. 26 3 He wrote up the ledger from the day-book.

1972 E. A. Gray U-Boat War 1914–1918 (1994) ix. 153 Beitzen noted the position of the field on his charts, wrote up the log-book entry, and turned back for home before the weather worsened.

2000 N. Riall Boer War ii. 14/2 It is clear that once mobilisation had begun Malcolm began to take greater care in writing up his diary.

c. transitive. To produce a full or formal written version of (notes, minutes, etc.); (more generally) to complete a final or finished version of (a written piece).

ΚΠ

1834 H. D. Inglis Ireland in 1834 I. v. 139 I remained for about ten days, writing up my notes, digesting my information, and occasionally enlarging my observations.

1900–1 Proc. Univ. Durham Philos. Soc. 1900–6 2 3 Even the minutes of the Curators cease to be written up.

1998 Textile Horizons July 23/1 Emily..is currently writing up her thesis for her Masters degree.

2004 D. E. Gray Doing Res. in Real World 244 In general, field notes should be written up immediately following the observation.

†2. transitive. To enter (a person's name) in a roll or list; to enrol. See also sense 4b. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

society > communication > record > list > [verb (transitive)] > enter in list > enter name or person in list

billa1464

to write upa1500

inscribe1607

to string up1854

a1500 (c1425) Andrew of Wyntoun Oryg. Cron. Scotl. (Nero) iv. l. 2543 Til wryte vp ilkan in til rol.

a1525 Thre Prestis of Peblis (Asloan) (1920) 18 Thai wryt wp leile and falss..And Dytis þaim vnder a perdoun.

1535 Bible (Coverdale) 1 Macc. x. D There shall xxx. M. also of the Iewes be written vp in the kynges hoost.

1539 Bible (Great) Psalms lxxxvii. 6 The Lorde shall rehearse it, whan he wryteth vp the people.

1666 P. Gordon Diary (1859) 72 Haveing told where wee were to lodge, they..sent a writer to write up our names.

3. transitive. To place (written text) in a prominent and elevated position, typically as a notice or inscription.

ΘΚΠ

society > communication > writing > [verb (transitive)] > write or place writing in elevated position

to write up1535

1535 Bible (Coverdale) Dan. v. E This is the scripture, that is written vp.

1595 W. Shakespeare Henry VI, Pt. 3 i. i. 170 I will..ouer the chaire of state..Wright vp his title.

1688 tr. L. Buglio Aridgm. Life G. Magaillans in tr. G. de Magalhães New Hist. China 350 Elogies and Encomiums upon the Father, written up on white Satin.

1739 J. Bancks Short Crit. Rev. Polit. Life O. Cromwell vi. 140 They..appeared every one with a paper in his hat, with these words written up on it.

1837 C. Dickens Pickwick Papers xxxiv. 374 Not content vith writin' up Pickwick [on the coach-door].

1837 C. Dickens Pickwick Papers li. 559 I call it a dispensary, and it's alvays writ up so.

1950 Sunday Times 17 Dec. 3/7 The message written up on the wall near to the Boulevard Edgar Quinet.

2015 Daily Tel. (Nexis) 10 Oct. The writers of Seinfeld used to take as their motto the phrase ‘no good deed goes unpunished’, and I wouldn't be surprised to learn that Rendell had that written up above her desk.

4. intransitive. Of an author, esp. of literary works: to adapt one's style in order to attract readers of supposedly more sophisticated taste or literary appreciation, or address a more knowledgeable readership. Often with to indicating the readership. Cf. sense 15d, to write down 4 at Phrasal verbs.

ΚΠ

1692 tr. C. de Saint-Évremond Misc. Ess. Pref. sig. A3 His Subjects are often Great and Noble, and then he never fails to write up to them.

1713 H. Felton Diss. Reading Classics 124 It must be our Care to think and write up to the Dignity..of the Things we presume to treat of.

1830 Southern Rev. May 495 It put him above his less-gifted peers—the noble vulgar—and it enabled him to write up or write down, just as the mood prompted.

1921 Sci. Amer. Nov. 20/1 The Editor both ‘writes down’ and ‘writes up’... He may translate the Einstein theories into the nontechnical phrases of everyday life.

1997 D. Conley Daily Miracle x. 181 The aim should be to write ‘up’ rather than ‘down’ to readers.

5. transitive. To praise or promote (someone or something) in writing. Cf. to write down 3b at Phrasal verbs.In later use often difficult to distinguish from sense 1a.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > attention and judgement > esteem > approval or sanction > commendation or praise > commend or praise [verb (transitive)] > in writing

to write up1726

1726 J. Swift Let. 27 Nov. in Corr. (1963) III. 187 However, one thing I was pleased with, that after you had writ me down, you repented, and writ me up.

1824 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. 16 165 She was never written up, to use the modern technical expression, in the Reviews.

1851 T. De Quincey Ld. Carlisle on Pope in Tait's Edinb. Mag. Apr. 235/2 Byron..wished to write up Pope by way of writing down others.

1893 ‘Q’ Delectable Duchy 7 I'll go in presently and write up this place.

?1930 in W. B. Weare Black Business in New South (1973) vi. 164 [The black press] wrote him up [to such an extent that a] young lady from Vicksburg [sent him a letter of proposal].

1980 Morning Call (Allentown, Pa) 23 Apr. c1/1 He thought it would be automatic. The press wrote him up like he was the next superstar.

6. transitive. To bring (a person, esp. oneself) to a heightened or exalted state or condition by what one writes; spec. to raise or elevate (oneself) in status, reputation, etc., through one's writings. Now rare.

ΘΚΠ

society > communication > writing > [verb (transitive)] > raise or elevate by writing

to write up1733

1733 E. Budgell Bee 2 683 He grew upon his Adversary, and at last wrote himself up to so high an Opinion of his own Importance, that he told the Gentleman, with a modest Disdain, that if he had been bred an Attorney, like himself, he would have been an Attorney still.

1751 W. Warburton in Wks. of Alexander Pope III. 108 Writers..writing themselves up into the same delusion with their Readers.

1832 Bristol Job Nott 3 May 84/2 He out did O'C, with the silken gown, And wrote himself up to a pitch of renown.

1945 Press & Jrnl. (Aberdeen) 28 Aug. 2/3 He may write himself up into a rival of the Babes in the Wood whose perilous adventures have drenched in tears the nurseries of many generations.

7. transitive. Finance. To increase the nominal value of (stock or goods).

ΚΠ

1893 Financial Times 25 Jan. 2/5 It was unanimously resolved by the shareholders to adopt the report and accounts. That step involved the extraordinary procedure of writing up the value of the premises in order to meet losses which have been incurred or which are contingent.

1904 Trans. Faculty of Actuaries 2 17 Draw up a schedule showing the amounts that must be added to capital each half-year so as to gradually write up the sum invested to the redemption value.

1992 Economist 2 May (Survey World Banking Suppl.) 30/2 Banks that merge or reorganise can boost their capital by writing up the value of their investments and property virtually tax-free.

2009 N.Y. Times (National ed.) 29 June b2/1 Bank of America and Citigroup..may be able to write up mortgage bonds and other dodgy paper they still hold.

8. transitive. U.S. To report (a person) for some misconduct, misdemeanour, etc.

ΘΚΠ

society > communication > information > informing on or against > inform on or against [verb (transitive)] > inform of (a fault or crime)

delatec1600

to write up1930

1930 Amer. Speech 6 134 Written up, noted in the prison records for some violation of rules.

1932 Saline (Mich.) Observer 30 June 1/5 The traffic officer..wrote him up for a traffic violation.

1990 D. Peterson Dress Gray v. 142 If the CQ chooses to be a hard case, he can write up the cadets in the company for having untidy rooms during the day.

Compounds

C1. Computing. As a modifier, designating a component, device, etc., used in the process of entering and storing data on a storage medium or in memory; (also) of or relating to this process. Cf. sense 13.

ΘΚΠ

society > computing and information technology > hardware > secondary storage > [adjective] > involved in writing data

write1950

1950 Proc. IRE 38 747/2 During the write operation, the storage surface will be above the cathode potential by an amount equal to the negative peak modulation.

1958 Communications Assoc. Computing Machinery 1 30 In each track, and separated by ·005″ from the associated read head, is the ‘write head’.

1980 C. S. French Computer Sci. xii. 62 Each record is written onto tape in response to a ‘write instruction’.

2004 Chicago Tribune (Midwest ed.) 19 June ii. 3/6 Looking like a thin pack of chewing gum, the device boasts an extremely fast 13 megabytes per second write speed.

C2.

write-once adj. Computing designating memory or a storage device on which data, once written, cannot be modified; cf. sense 13.

ΘΚΠ

society > computing and information technology > hardware > [adjective] > types of memory

static1947

read-only1961

write-once1967

read-mostly1971

bank-switched1974

1967 Proc. AFIPS Conf. 31 372/2 Photographic media are quite inexpensive, are capable of extremely high bit densities, and exhibit an inherent write-once, read-only storage capability.

1987 I. R. Sinclair Electronics for Electricians & Engineers xiv. 246 The alternative is some form of PROM (programmable read-only memory), a type of write-once read-often chip.

1989 New Scientist 22 July 48/1 The industry now reasons it can produce two types of recordable disc; a relatively cheap version for single recordings, the so-called ‘write-once’ discs or CD-Rs, and another for multiple recordings, the erasable discs or CD-Es.

2017 @ethanschoonover 22 Apr. in twitter.com (accessed 28 Apr. 2020) Imagine you are writing a program but the memory and storage is write-once. Mistakes are persistent.

write permit ring n.

Brit.

/ˌrʌɪt pəˈmɪt rɪŋ/

U.S.

/ˌraɪt pərˈmɪt ˌrɪŋ/

Computing (now chiefly historical) a ring which has to be fitted into a groove in the back of a tape reel before the tape can be written to; cf. sense 13.

ΘΚΠ

society > computing and information technology > hardware > secondary storage > [noun] > magnetic > tape drive > enabling writing

write permit ring1961

1961 R. B. Smith & C. H. Hunter BKS Syst. for Philco-2000 Computer 51/2 Mount blanks on Tα, Tβ, Tγ. This is a System request to have blank tapes with write permit rings mounted on specific tape transports.

1980 S. Hockey Guide Computer Applic. Humanities ii. 27 One way of ensuring that this does not happen is to use..a write permit ring, a plastic ring which can be inserted in the back of a tape reel.

2014 A. Morton Night Shift iii. 19 We then devised a game of quoits, using the four inch (10 centimetres) diameter coloured plastic write permit rings that fitted into the back of mag-tapes.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2021; most recently modified version published online June 2022).

单词	write
释义	writen. Brit. /rʌɪt/, U.S. /raɪt/, Scottish English /rʌit/ Forms: α. 1500s wright (northern), 1500s–1600s wryte, 1500s–1800s (1900s in sense 4b) write; Scottish pre-1700 vryit, pre-1700 wriit, pre-1700 wryit, pre-1700 1700s wryte, pre-1700 1700s–1900s write, pre-1700 1900s vrite, 1800s vreyt (northern), 1800s–1900s vreet (north-eastern). β. Scottish pre-1700 ureit, pre-1700 vreat, pre-1700 vreit, pre-1700 vreitt, pre-1700 wreate, pre-1700 wreatt, pre-1700 wreatte, pre-1700 wreit, pre-1700 wreite, pre-1700 wreitt, pre-1700 wreitte, pre-1700 wriet, pre-1700 1700s–1800s wreat, 1700s wreath, 1800s wraet (Shetland). γ. Scottish pre-1700 vrait, pre-1700 wrait, pre-1700 wraitt, pre-1700 wrayt. Origin: Probably of multiple origins. Probably partly a variant or alteration of another lexical item. Probably partly formed within English, by conversion. Etymons: writ n.; write v. Etymology: Probably partly (i) an alteration of writ n. after write v., and partly (ii) directly < write v.In early use the word is difficult to distinguish from writ n. Older Scots and post-1500 southern English graphic forms that suggest a long or a short vowel have been placed respectively at this entry and at writ n., where this assumption is not contradicted by other evidence. However, some of the early forms at this entry may instead reflect pronunciation with a short vowel, and vice versa. (Compare, for example, Older Scots forms vryte, wryte, which have been placed at writ n. on the strength of rhyme evidence: compare quot. c1480 at writ n. 2a.) While evidence of rhyme and spelling suggests existence of write n. in Scots by the 16th cent. (and probably already in the 15th), there appears to be no clear evidence of a similar situation in Middle English. Thus, all Middle English instances have been placed at writ n., including those spelt with final -e . Compare variation between forms with the long and short vowel in the present stem of write v. (see Forms 1aα. and 1aβ. at that entry), which was particularly characteristic of Older Scots, and which is likely to have contributed to the development of this word. For the history of the developments shown by the stem vowel in Older Scots see discussion at hand write n. Chiefly Scottish (now north-eastern). †1. A piece of writing. a. A written record or work; a book, a letter, a document, etc. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ 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 1428 in W. Fraser Bk. Carlaverock (1873) II. 430 In witnes of the qwylk thyng to this present wryte..the seillis..ar hungyn. 1466 in J. B. Paul Registrum Magni Sigilli Scotorum (1882) II. 214/2 Maide the day of this present write be us and our counsale. 1500 in W. Mure Select. Family Papers Caldwell (1854) I. 52 We haiff subscriwit þis wryte wyth our handes. 1566 T. Stapleton Returne Vntruthes Jewelles Replie iv. 32 The..Legat brought forth a write from Zosimus. 1568 T. Howell Newe Sonets (1879) 114 Thes my triflyng toyes, and far vnconning writes [rhyme delites]. 1633 Costlie Whore iv. ii Let's read these writes. What's here? complaints against my worthy brothers. 1678 G. Mackenzie Laws & Customes Scotl. ii. 522 A Write that is null. 1705 J. Dalrymple Coll. Sc. Hist. 267 I have neither seen Writes nor Chartularies, only a Copy of the Charter. 1762 in Minutes of Evid. Nairne Peerage (1873) 98 in Sessional Papers House of Lords (H.L. A) XII. 65 His own proper writes and evidents. 1913 G. Greig Mains Again 33 She his gotten a haud o' some vreet o' mine that wisna intendit for her. b. Chiefly with the. The sacred writings of Christianity contained in the Bible; the Scriptures; frequently in Holy Write. Cf. writ n. 2b. Obsolete. 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 1508 Devise Prowes & Eke Humilitee in W. Dunbar Flyting (Chepman & Myllar) sig. biv^v Thou gert mankynde consent to do that wrang..As haly write beris suthfast witnessing. 1551 R. Crowley Pleasure & Payne sig. Dii Holy wryte teacheth you so. 1563 N. Winȝet tr. R. Benoit in D. Fergusson Answer Epist. R. Benedict ii. f.11 Where is it red in the holy write..that the masse..is abhomination? 1567 Compend. Bk. Godly Songs (1897) 113 Thow..hes promittit in the write..Of all thair Sin to mak thame quyte. 1699 ‘Lady of Honour’ Golden Island 4 It is ordain'd in Holy Write, Death pay'd our Sacrifice; The Thristle and the Reed Lyon, will Crush our Enemies. 1783 New Hist. Scotl. I. xiv. 213 It may be demanded how he [sc. Josephus] comes to know of the origin of the Gauls, seeing holy write is silent in this. c. Law. A written command or order in the name of a sovereign, court , or other legal authority to act, or refrain from acting, in a particular way; a writ (writ n. 4b(b), 4b(a)).Obsolete. ΘΚΠ society > law > administration of justice > process, writ, warrant, or order > [noun] > writ writa1400 write1516 writing of divorce1568 noverint1592 1516 in J. W. Clay Testamenta Eboracensia (1902) VI. 2 By wright of entre. a1538 T. Starkey Dial. Pole & Lupset (1989) 78 He wyl by wryte remove hys cause to the court at westmestur. 1550 R. Crowley One & Thyrtye Epigrammes sig. Bi A Baylife..serued with one wryte an whole score or tweyne. †2. Chiefly Scottish. Writing; written language or record. Cf. writ n. 3. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ society > communication > record > written record > [noun] bookeOE writlOE rolla1325 conscriptiona1382 lettersa1382 scripturea1382 monument1405 write1483 pancart1577 panchart1587 anagraphy1606 notitia1738 1483 in G. Neilson & H. Paton Acts Lords of Council Civil Causes (1918) II. Introd. p. cxxvii Ane act of the Lordis..gevin thairupon be..actentik write and document. 1554 D. Lindsay Dialog Experience & Courteour iv. sig. O.viii He hes red, in Hebrew wryte, Off fyftene signis. a1556 N. Udall Ralph Roister Doister (?1566) ii. iii. sig. D.j No man for despite, By worde or by write His felowe to twite. a1600 R. Lindsay Hist. & Cron. Scotl. (1899) I. 366 Of the quhilk..the nobillis..hard tell alsweill be wreit as be toung. c1657 W. Mure Wks. (S.T.S.) II. 238 The monuments of wryte of the greatest antiquitie. 1681 J. Dalrymple Inst. Law Scotl. i. 345 Private Ways are Constitute..by going and coming that way uninterrupted..fourty years without Write, or any other Right. 1825 J. Jamieson Etymol. Dict. Sc. Lang. Suppl. Write, writing, as contrasted with verbal communication. †3. Scottish. The state or property of having been written; written form. Only in in write. Cf. writ n. 6 Obsolete. ΘΚΠ society > communication > writing > state of having been written > [adverb] in scripturec1400 in write1483 in (also under) black and white1569 on paper1582 scriptitiously1815 1483 in G. Neilson & H. Paton Acts Lords of Council Civil Causes (1918) II. Introd. p. cxxxi The names salbe gevin to thame in write in a portous under the signet. a1600 ( W. Stewart tr. H. Boece Bk. Cron. Scotl. (1858) III. l. 46666 The king..All his desyr in wryte syne to him send. 1609 J. Skene tr. Stat. David II in Regiam Majestatem , 47 The summonds..sall be put in write. a1645 Ld. Napier Mem. (1793) 49 To set downe there..informations in wreat under there hand. 1717 R. Wodrow Corr. (1843) II. 270 They behoved to set them [sc. answers] down in write. 1792 Spalding's Hist. Troubles Scotl. (new ed.) II. 93 This supplication was set down in write under the hands of 72 English ministers, as was reported, and signeted with their seals, of the whilk the tenor follows. 4. a. Scottish (now north-eastern). Handwriting, script; a particular form, style, or method of writing by hand; the form or style of handwriting used by a particular person. Sc. National Dict. (at cited word) records this sense as still in use in north-eastern Scotland in 1974. 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 1591 in J. Stuart Extracts Council Reg. Aberdeen (1844) I. p. viii Euil to be red, be resoun of the antiquite of the wreit, and forme of the letter. a1614 J. Melville Autobiogr. & Diary (1842) 185 He causit wryt a copie in guid wrait. 1678 G. Mackenzie Laws & Customes Scotl. ii. 525 One mans write will differ from it self at several occasions. 1727 R. Wodrow Corr. (1843) III. 288 His defences..are four or five sheets of sparse write, yet not so long as I expected. 1814 Galt's New Brit. Theatre I. 351 Whose write is it? not Henry's, sure, no—yes! 1825 J. Jamieson Etymol. Dict. Sc. Lang. Suppl. (at cited word) Sma' write, small text; Grit, Big, or Muckle write, round text. 1898 Shetland News 22 Jan. in Sc. National Dict. (1976) X. at cited word Doo niver wis gude at makin' oot wraet at first. 1907 Shetland Times 18 May 8/3 Mr Stott—..(to witness)—Let me see that paper. Witness—You maybe canna read my write. (Laughter). b. write-of-hand: handwriting, script; (also) the art or method of writing by hand. Now rare.hand of write: see hand n. 16c. ΚΠ 1833 K. Thomson Constance II. iv. 117 I cannot read write-of-hand, but I knows it's to Sir Charles, from a lady. 1863 E. C. Gaskell Sylvia's Lovers III. xiv. 242 A could wish as a'd learned write-of-hand,..for a've that for to tell Christopher as might set his mind at ease. 1949 Daily Tel. & Morning Post 1 Aug. (4 A.M. ed.) 4/6 Young men..whose write of hand beat any doctor's prescription, have gone out to wild places and governed wisely. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2021; most recently modified version published online June 2022). writev. Brit. /rʌɪt/, U.S. /raɪt/ Inflections: Past tense wrote Brit. /rəʊt/, U.S. /roʊt/; past participle written Brit. /ˈrɪtn/, U.S. /ˈrɪtn/, (in Phrases 3a) writ Brit. /rɪt/, U.S. /rɪt/; Forms: 1. Present stem. a. α. Old English writan, Old English wrytan, early Middle English writenn ( Ormulum), Middle English whryte, Middle English wrict, Middle English wrighte, Middle English wrijte, Middle English writh, Middle English writhe, Middle English wrygt, Middle English wryȝt, Middle English wryȝte, Middle English wrygth, Middle English wryth, Middle English wrythe, Middle English–1500s wryght, Middle English–1600s wright, Middle English–1600s wryte, Middle English– write, 1500s writen (infinitive, archaic), 1500s wryghte, 1800s wroite (English regional (northern)); Scottish pre-1700 vrict, pre-1700 vriht, pre-1700 worite, pre-1700 wriet, pre-1700 wright, pre-1700 wrycht, pre-1700 wryght, pre-1700 wryit, pre-1700 1700s wryte, pre-1700 1700s– write, 1800s–1900s vrite. eOE (Kentish) Will of Abba (Sawyer 1482) in N. P. Brooks & S. E. Kelly Charters of Christ Church Canterbury, Pt. 2 (2013) 663 Ic Abba geroefa cyðe & writan hate hu min willa is þæt mon ymb min ærfe gedoe.c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) Ded. l. 109 Forr he ne maȝȝ nohht elless. Onn ennglissh writenn rihht te word.c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) l. 14406 On feole bocken his nome me swa writeð.a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 648 Ne writer nan mai write..þe mikel ioy þat þam es lent.a1450 (c1375) G. Chaucer Anelida & Arcite (Tanner 346) (1878) l. 209 She gan hit write [c1475 Harl. 372 wryte, a1500 Harl. 7333 wreyte].1589 G. Peele Eglogue Gratulatorie B j b To writen sike praise.1673 in Jrnl. Friends' Hist. Soc. July (1914) 98 Thou should wright to her.1742 T. Gray Let. July in Corr. (1971) I. 215 My haveing at last found a Pen, that writes.1864 Ld. Tennyson Northern Farmer xv Summun I reckons 'ull 'a to wroite.1953 P. G. Wodehouse Performing Flea 69 She is going to find out about quarantine and then write me.2012 M. Constanzo & D. Krauss Forensic & Legal Psychol. iii. 54 The polygraph writes out many physiological responses to questions asked by an examiner. β. Old English uritta (Northumbrian, in prefixed forms), Old English writta (Northumbrian, in prefixed forms), Middle English wrytt, Middle English–1500s wrytte, Middle English–1600s writ, Middle English–1600s writte, Middle English–1600s wryt, late Middle English–1700s writt; Scottish pre-1700 ritt, pre-1700 ryt, pre-1700 urit, pre-1700 vrit, pre-1700 vryt, pre-1700 weryt, pre-1700 woritte, pre-1700 writ, pre-1700 wryt, pre-1700 wrytte, pre-1700 1700s writt, pre-1700 1700s writte, pre-1700 1700s wrytt, 1700s uryt. OE (Northumbrian) Lindisf. Gospels: Matt. Pref. Omnia diligenter ex ordine tibi scribere : alle georne mið endebrednise ðe auritta.] a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 9898 Fairer..þan..ani clerc mai writ wit inc.1480 G. Cely Let. 24 Nov. in Cely Lett. (1975) 101 As of any tydyngys her Y con none wrytt yow as ȝett.c1500 (?a1437) Kingis Quair (1939) clxxxii Quhat nedis me..To writt all this??1616 W. Mure Misc. Poems xvi. 3 My barren muse..to wryt forbears.1704 Duke of Atholl Let. 18 July in P. H. Brown Lett. Scotl. Reign Queen Anne (1915) 137 I did myself the honour to writte..last week. γ. Middle English wreyte, Middle English–1500s wrete, 1500s wrett, 1800s wreyt (English regional (northern); Scottish pre-1700 reatt, pre-1700 ureet, pre-1700 ureit, pre-1700 vreit, pre-1700 vreitt, pre-1700 wereatt, pre-1700 wreate, pre-1700 wreatte, pre-1700 wreet, pre-1700 wreit, pre-1700 wreitt, pre-1700 wrett, pre-1700 wrette, pre-1700 wreyt, pre-1700 1700s wreatt, pre-1700 1700s–1900s wreat, pre-1700 1800s vrett, pre-1700 1800s (1900s Shetland) wret, pre-1700 (1800s–1900s north-eastern) vret, 1800s vreyt (north-eastern), 1800s wireete, 1800s– vreet (north-eastern), 1900s reit. 1394 in R. W. Chambers & M. Daunt Bk. London Eng. (1931) 276 Þat poure Clerk þat hath serued xij ȝer & more..to wretene alle costeȝ þat were do in þe forseyte tyme with-inne þe fornemned maner.c1500 Makculloch MS in G. S. Stevenson Pieces from Makculloch & Gray MSS (1918) 28 Sarffo, as to wret.1536 A. Borde Let. 1 Apr. in Fyrst Bk. Introd. Knowl. (1870) 52 To wrett att theyr request.1603 in 10th Rep. Royal Comm. Hist. MSS (1885) App. i. 31 The man that teichis me to vret.1705 Earl of Seafield Let. 24 May in P. H. Brown Lett. Scotl. Reign Queen Anne (1915) 46 He layes it on me to wreat.1871 W. Alexander Johnny Gibb xlix. 332 Ye'll jist vreet aff at ance.1931 D. Campbell Uncle Andie 11 Gin ye ran half sae crookit as ye vreet, Dooglie, it's nae marvel ye joukit the boombs o' the Proosians ower in France. δ. late Middle English whrayt; Scottish pre-1700 vrayt, pre-1700 wrait, pre-1700 wraite, pre-1700 wrayt, pre-1700 1800s vrait, 1800s weraet, 1900s– wraet (Shetland); U.S. regional 1900s– rat. 1482 R. Cely Let. 13 May in Cely Lett. (1975) 152 Sche has prayd me to whrayt to yow.1545 in W. Fraser Douglas Bk. (1885) IV. 156 Remember to vrayt one to the kingis hienes.c1625 in D. Forbes & C. Innes Acct. Familie Innes (1864) 213 He has saued me the labour of wraytting newes.1866 W. Gregor Dial. Banffshire (Philol. Soc.) 204 Vrait,..to write.1990 C. Amory Cat & Curmudgeon 193 This fella says he rats for it [sc. the New York Times], and he wants to rat about the ranch for it. b. Also 3rd singular indicative. Old English–Middle English writ, Middle English writt, Middle English wryt. OE Ælfric Catholic Homilies: 2nd Ser. (Cambr. Gg.3.28) Pref. 2 Micel yfel deð se ðe leas writ.c1275 (?c1250) Owl & Nightingale (Calig.) (1935) l. 1756 Þar he demeþ manie riȝte dom, An diht & writ [a1300 Jesus Oxf. wryt] mani wisdom. ▸ a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) vii. l. 4560 The Philosophre..Writ and conseileth to a king.c1425 J. Lydgate Troyyes Bk. (Augustus A.iv) iv. l. 7002 In þe Sauter, where he writ expresse, And confermeth þer as he endites. 2. Past tense. a. Strong. (i). Originally 1st and 3rd singular indicative. α. (chiefly northern and north-east midlands in later Middle English) Old English urat (Northumbrian, in prefixed forms), Old English (Northumbrian) early Middle English ( Ormulum) wratt, Old English–1500s wrat, Middle English wraite, Middle English wrayt, Middle English–1500s wratte, Middle English–1600s wrate; English regional (northern) 1800s wraat, 1800s wrat, 1900s wræat; Scottish pre-1700 vrait, pre-1700 wart, pre-1700 wraitt, pre-1700 wratte, pre-1700 wrayt, pre-1700 wrayte, pre-1700 wraytt, pre-1700 1700s– wrate, pre-1700 1800s wraite, pre-1700 (1800s–1900s north-eastern) vrat, pre-1700 1800s– wrait, pre-1700 1900s wrat, 1700s–1900s vrate (north-eastern), 1900s wraet. OE Royal Charter: Æðelbald of Mercia to Bp. Milred (Sawyer 98) in A. J. Robertson Anglo-Saxon Charters (1956) 2 Wilfrið biscop he hit wrat.a1225 MS Lamb. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 75 Ec of heom wrat..his uers.a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 21243 Þe godspel in itali he wratte [Fairf. wrate; rhyme smate].a1500 (c1425) Andrew of Wyntoun Oryg. Cron. Scotl. (Nero) vii. l. 1854 Þis Alexander..Wart [a1550 Wemyss Wrait] til Schir Mathow.a1586 Sir P. Sidney Arcadia (1593) iii. sig. Gg5^v Vpon a roote of the tree..she wrat this couplet.1620 T. Peyton Glasse of Time i. 51 That sweete Disciple which the Gospell wrate.1708 J. Falconar Let. 19 Sept. in T. Hearne Remarks & Coll. (1886) II. 130 I wrate once and again.1824 W. Carr Horæ Momenta Cravenæ Wraat,..wrote.1894 R. O. Heslop Northumberland Words 799 He wrat him a letter.1981 Eng. World-wide 2 i. 8 Yet thir thrie scrievers wrait guid feckfu Scots. β. Middle English wroet, Middle English wroȝt, Middle English wroit, Middle English wrooth, Middle English wrothe, Middle English wrouȝte, Middle English 1600s wroot, Middle English–1500s wroote, Middle English–1600s wrott, Middle English–1600s wrotte, Middle English–1700s wrot, Middle English– wrote, late Middle English wort, 1500s wroght, 1500s wroott, 1500s wrout, 1500s wroute, 1500s–1600s wroat, 1500s–1600s wroate; Scottish pre-1700 worott, pre-1700 wroit, 1900s– wrott. Some instances of forms with ȝ, gh could alternatively be interpreted as showing the past tense of work v. (compare Forms 2α. at that entry).a1200 MS Trin. Cambr. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1873) 2nd Ser. 17 Elch of hem wrot [a1225 Lamb. wrat] his uers.?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 284 He..wrot wið hisachne blod Saluz to his leofmon.a1400 (c1303) R. Mannyng Handlyng Synne (Harl.) l. 9281 A fende..wrote alle þat euer þey spake.c1400 (c1378) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Laud 581) (1869) B. xix. l. 478 I awakned þere-with & wrote [c1400 Trin. Cambr. B.15.17 wroot, a1450 Bodl. 814 wroȝt, a1500 Oriel wrouȝte] as me mette.a1529 J. Skelton Ware the Hauke (1843) 223 I wroute a verse.?c1530 in H. Ellis Orig. Lett. Eng. Hist. (1846) 3rd Ser. III. 189 Sythe I last wroght to you.a1686 J. Gordon Hist. Scots Affairs (1841) I. 60 Dr. Walter Balcanqwell, who with the king's owne particular oversight worott that booke.1709 J. Strype Ann. Reformation 246 He wrot to..Cecil to release him.1842 in J. Bischoff Comprehensive Hist. Woollen Manuf. II. 318 He wrote to request my aid.2005 R. Hoban Come dance with Me xix. 112 Whammo! that's all she wrote. γ. late Middle English–1600s (1800s– regional or nonstandard) write. Rare in Middle English and early modern English. The instances perhaps show transmission errors. ▸ c1454 R. Pecock Folewer to Donet 7 Þe book which y write in englisch.1582 R. Robinson tr. J. Leland Assertion of King Arthure (1925) 25 That Iohn which concerning Arthure write the golden historie.a1700 in Publ. Catholic Rec. Soc. (1911) 9 336 His Bookes, w[hi]ch she write out and faithfully practised.1882 Ballou's Monthly Mag. Aug. 146/1 Better 'n two years ago she write me she'd went takin' boarders fur the summer.2000 J. Lyons in C. Newland & K. Sesay IC3 12 She didn' write home bout longing fuh roti an curry-goat. No she write home bout how people looks could kill she. δ. Scottish pre-1700 vreit, pre-1700 vrett, pre-1700 wreit, pre-1700 wreitt, pre-1700 wreott, pre-1700 wreyt, pre-1700 1700s wreat, pre-1700 1700s wrett, pre-1700 1800s– wret (now Shetland), 1700s urett, 1800s ret. c1500 in G. Goudie Celtic & Scand. Antiq. Shetland (1904) 172 The hand that wret it.1652 R. Burnet Let. 2 Aug. in J. Stuart Misc. Spalding Club (1841) I. 45 I wreitt lykewayes to my sone in law to assist him.1700 in W. Fraser Scotts of Buccleuch (1878) II. 374 Tarbat urett a bantring letter to me, and I wrett just such another to him.1891 J. J. H. Burgess Rasmie's Büddie 4 An I wret ta dee, Boy, da address wid be Hell.1979 J. J. Graham Shetland Dict. 99/2 Wret, wrote. ε. 1500s wryt, 1500s wrytt, 1500s wrytte, 1500s–1600s writte, 1500s–1700s writt, 1500s– writ (now regional or nonstandard), 1600s ritt, 1900s rit (English regional); also Scottish pre-1700 wryt, pre-1700 1700s writt, pre-1700 1900s vrit, 1900s rit. 1539 in H. Ellis Orig. Lett. Eng. Hist. (1827) 2nd Ser. II. 152 Yowr Kyng wrytte agaynste Lwtther.1666 in 11th Rep. Royal Comm. Hist. MSS (1887) App. V. 14 I ritt wonce to you.1788 Trifler No. 12. 156 Authors (who writ in the Latin tongue).1852 W. M. Thackeray Henry Esmond II. i. 17 He writ back a letter.1985 Lakeland Dial. Sept. 15 Ah bleeve ivverything at he writ in his beuk.2001 C. Chinn & S. Thorne Proper Brummie 167 I writ it down last night, before I went to bed. ζ. U.S. regional 1800s–1900s writen. 1862 C. M. Epperly Let. in Dict. Amer. Regional Eng. (online ed., accessed 3 Sept. 2021) (at cited word) Wee have bin on a long march sins I writen to you last.1927 in H. Wentworth Amer. Dial. Dict. (1944) at Written I writen you. η. U.S. regional 1800s– written. 1884 J. A. Harrison Negro Eng. in Anglia 7 253 Pres. write—Past..written, writtened.1941 E. P. O'Donnell Great Big Doorstep 41 You mean to tell me you written that song, Shoepick?2011 J. M. Rusin Long Silky Blonde Girl 45 After I written Gary book, so I got different idea and I written my second book. θ. U.S. regional 1900s– wroten ((in African-American usage)). 1976 A. Tyler Searching for Caleb 236 Mr. Caleb wroten it down on a piece of paper. (ii). Plural. α. Old English wriotan (in prefixed forms), Old English writton (Northumbrian, in prefixed forms), Old English wryton (in prefixed forms), Old English wuritun (Northumbrian, in prefixed forms), Old English–early Middle English writon, Old English (chiefly late)–Middle English writen, early Middle English writenn ( Ormulum), early Middle English wrytan, Middle English write, Middle English writoun, Middle English written, Middle English writun, Middle English writyn, Middle English wryten, Middle English wrytyn, late Middle English writt, late Middle English wryt. eOE tr. Bede Eccl. Hist. (Tanner) v. xvii. 460 Hi..þus writon betwyh him.lOE King Ælfred tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. (Bodl.) (2009) I. xviii. 281 Eac þa [ðe] hi ymbe writon.a1225 (c1200) Vices & Virtues (1888) 27 Ðat ðe ure hali faderes..writen, and tahte. ▸ a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) vii. l. 21 Yit of that Calistre And Aristotle whylom write To Alisandre, thou schalt wite.1408 (c1395) Bible (Wycliffite, L.V.) (Fairf.) Deeds xv. 23 Wryten [a1450 Cambr. Dd.1.27 writen, c1450 Bodl. 277 wreten; a1425 Royal The apostlis..wroten..to hem..greting].1435 in A. T. Bannister Reg. Thome Spofford (1919) 203 Syth the tyme that we writt unto you by our writes..ther bee fallen uppon us..gret mater of wyght.c1451 J. Capgrave Life St. Gilbert (1910) 95 Þei..morouyr wrytyn and sent on-to þe Pope compleynyng. β. early Old English wreoton, Old English wreotan. eOE tr. Bede Eccl. Hist. (Tanner) iv. xxv. 346 His song & his leoð wæron swa wynsumu to gehyranne, þætte seolfan þa his lareowas æt his muðe wreoton & leornodon.lOE Agreement between Abbot Ceolred & Wulfred (Sawyer 1440) in S. E. Kelly Charters of Peterborough Abbey (2009) 216 Her sindan ða naman ðere monna þe þis wreotan & festnedan. γ. Middle English wrete, Middle English wreten. ▸ a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1874) V. 147 Athanasius..and oþer bisshoppes..wrete for seventy chapitres.c1450 (c1350) Alexander & Dindimus (Bodl.) (1929) l. 24 Þe gentil Genosophistiens..To þe Emperour Alixandre here answerus wreten.?1454 M. Paston in Paston Lett. & Papers (2004) I. 254 Your erondys þat ye wrete to me fore. δ. Middle English whrat, Middle English wrate. a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 16688 ‘Ihesus nazaren, o Iuus king,’ þar-on þai wrate.?c1475 (a1402) J. Trevisa Gospel of Nicodemus (Salisbury) f. 140 Huy sette and wrate and seyde eyþer in þis maner. ε. Middle English whrote, Middle English wroght, Middle English wrogth, Middle English wroot, Middle English wroote, Middle English wrot, Middle English wrote, Middle English wroten. Some instances of forms with g(h) could alternatively be interpreted as showing the past tense of work v. (compare Forms 2α. at that entry).a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Trin. Cambr.) l. 16681 Þe cause of his deþ þei wroot [c1460 Laud wroght] abouen his heed on hy.a1425 (c1395) Bible (Wycliffite, L.V.) (Royal) (1850) Deeds xv. 23 The apostlis..wroten..greting.a1500 ( Vision E. Leversedge (1991) 128 Þey wrot to me þere conseyte. b. Weak. α. late Middle English writede, late Middle English writide, late Middle English wrytted, 1500s–1600s (1800s regional or nonstandard) writed. a1425 (c1395) Bible (Wycliffite, L.V.) (Royal) (1850) 1 Esdras iv. 6 Thei writiden accusing aȝens the dwellers of Juda.a1579 H. Balnaves Confession of Faith (1584) xxi 163 Where euer the Apost. S. P. writed or preached.1646 W. Prynne Canterburies Doome 485 Crantzius..&..Hospinian..writed that Witikind found the face of Charls the Great, full of alacrity after he approached..the Lords Table.1864 Mrs. H. Wood Trevlyn Hold III. vi. 80 I..brought him the big Bible, and held it afore him in bed, that he might lean the letter on while he writed it. β. 1800s writtened (U.S. regional (in African-American usage)). 1884 J. A. Harrison Negro Eng. in Anglia 7 253 Pres. write—Past..written, writtened. 3. Past participle. a. Strong. (i). α. early Old English uuriten (Kentish, in prefixed forms (not ge-)), early Old English wrieten (in prefixed forms (not ge-)), Old English gewriten, Old English gewryten, Old English writn- (Anglian, inflected form, in prefixed forms (not ge-)), Old English wrytan (in prefixed forms (not ge-)), Old English (rare)–Middle English (in a copy of an Old English charter) gewritan, Old English (in prefixed forms (not ge-))–1500s writyn, Old English–1600s writen, Old English (in prefixed forms (not ge-))–1600s wryten, late Old English gewriton, late Old English writæn (in prefixed forms (not ge-)), late Old English writan (in prefixed forms (not ge-)), late Old English–Middle English iwriten, early Middle English ȝewritan, early Middle English ȝewriten, early Middle English ȝewriton, early Middle English iwritæn, early Middle English writenn ( Ormulum), Middle English iwritin, Middle English iwryten, Middle English iwrytyn, Middle English jwriten, Middle English jwryten, Middle English vriten, Middle English wirtin, Middle English wrijten, Middle English writene, Middle English writin, Middle English writon, Middle English writun, Middle English writune, Middle English writyne, Middle English wrten (northern, perhaps transmission error), Middle English wrytene, Middle English wrytin, Middle English wryton, Middle English wrytun, Middle English wyrtyn, Middle English ywriten, Middle English ywriton, Middle English ywryten, Middle English (1500s archaic) ywrytyn, Middle English–1500s wrytyn, 1500s wryghten, 1500s–1600s wrighten; Scottish pre-1700 vritin, pre-1700 vritine, pre-1700 vriting, pre-1700 vrityn, pre-1700 vrityne, pre-1700 vritynne, pre-1700 vrythin, pre-1700 vrytin, pre-1700 vrytyn, pre-1700 vrytyng, pre-1700 wrietten, pre-1700 writhin, pre-1700 writin, pre-1700 writine, pre-1700 writing, pre-1700 writyn, pre-1700 writyne, pre-1700 writyng, pre-1700 wryghten, pre-1700 wryten, pre-1700 wrytin, pre-1700 wrytine, pre-1700 wrytyn, pre-1700 wrytyne, pre-1700 1700s writen. eOE (Kentish) Will of Ealdorman Ælfred (Sawyer 1508) in N. P. Brooks & S. E. Kelly Charters of Christ Church Canterbury, Pt. 2 (2013) 810 Sio ðis lond gewriten & unbefliten [etc.].OE Beowulf (2008) 1688 On ðæm wæs or writen fyrngewinnes.a1225 (?OE) MS Lamb. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 11 Nu weren þas þreo laȝe ȝe-writen.c1390 (a1376) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Vernon) (1867) A. i. l. 174 Wordes I-writen In þe Ewangelye.a1447 H. Beaufort in H. Ellis Orig. Lett. Eng. Hist. (1824) 1st Ser. I. 8 Wrytyn of myn owne hand at London the xij. day of Marche.?c1530 in H. Ellis Orig. Lett. Eng. Hist. (1846) 3rd Ser. II. 221 Y wrytyn at Godolphyn.1693 M. Grahame Let. 8 Nov. in J. Grant Seafield Corr. 1685–1708 (1912) 127 This is wryten in my bed.1703 Earl of Seafield Let. 10 July in P. H. Brown Lett. Scotl. Reign Queen Anne (1915) 8 I have writen to the Earle of Notingham. β. early Old English wreoten (Kentish, in prefixed forms (not ge-)), early Middle English gewreten (in a copy of an Old English charter), Middle English iwreten, Middle English iwretyn, Middle English wrethun, Middle English wretun, Middle English wretyne, Middle English wrretyn, Middle English ywreten, Middle English–1500s wretin, Middle English–1500s wreton, Middle English–1500s wretyn, Middle English–1600s wreten; Scottish pre-1700 ureten, pre-1700 vreetin, pre-1700 vreittin, pre-1700 vretin, pre-1700 vretine, pre-1700 wreaten, pre-1700 wreatin, pre-1700 wreatine, pre-1700 wreatne, pre-1700 wreatten, pre-1700 wreattin, pre-1700 wreiten, pre-1700 wreitin, pre-1700 wreitten, pre-1700 wreittin, pre-1700 wreten, pre-1700 wretin, pre-1700 wretine, pre-1700 wreting, pre-1700 wretyn, pre-1700 wretyne, pre-1700 wretyng, pre-1700 wreyten, pre-1700 wreyttin. eOE (Kentish) Will of Ealdorman Ælfred (Sawyer 1508) in N. P. Brooks & S. E. Kelly Charters of Christ Church Canterbury, Pt. 2 (2013) 810 Ðeos foresprec & þas gewriotu þe herbeufan awreotene stondað.] a1300 (?OE) Royal Charter: Edward the Confessor to Church of St. Benet of Holme (Sawyer 1055) in J. Conway Davies Chartae Antiquae Rolls 11–20 (1960) 83 Hy hyranuppen on leden gewretene [printed geyretene] [a1300 Galba gewritene] standeð. ▸ a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) (1961) Deut. xxix. 20 Sittyn opon hym alle þe corsid þynges þat been wretun in þis volym.c1415 (c1380) G. Chaucer Second Nun's Tale (Lansd.) (1875) l. 210 Euery where þis wordes al wiþ golde wreten [c1430 Cambr. Gg.4.27 I-wretyn] were.1534 T. Cromwell Let. in R. B. Merriman Life & Lett. Cromwell (1902) I. 385 Wretyn at my house.1693 J. Anderson Let. 17 July in J. Grant Seafield Corr. 1685–1708 (1912) 109 Some things contained in a le[tte]r wreitten to him. γ. Old English gewritten (Northumbrian, in a compound), Old English uuritten (Northumbrian), Old English writtn- (Northumbrian, inflected form-, in prefixed forms (not ge-)), Old English wuritten (Northumbrian, in prefixed forms (not ge-)), Old English (chiefly Northumbrian, in prefixed forms (not ge-)) Middle English– written, Middle English iwritten, Middle English ywrytten, Middle English–1500s whryttyn, Middle English–1500s writton, Middle English–1500s writtyn, Middle English–1500s wryttin, Middle English–1500s wrytton, Middle English–1500s wryttyn, Middle English–1500s wryttyne, Middle English (in a late copy)–1500s (archaic) ywritten, Middle English–1600s writtin, Middle English–1600s wrytten, 1500s whrythyn, 1600s writt'n, 1900s wrutten (English regional (Cumberland)); Scottish pre-1700 urittinn, pre-1700 virtyne, pre-1700 vrittene, pre-1700 vrittin, pre-1700 vritting, pre-1700 vrittyng, pre-1700 vryttin, pre-1700 vrytting, pre-1700 vryttyn, pre-1700 vyrtyn, pre-1700 wirrityn, pre-1700 wirtin, pre-1700 wirttyn, pre-1700 wirtyn, pre-1700 wirtyne, pre-1700 writn, pre-1700 writne, pre-1700 writtan, pre-1700 writtin, pre-1700 writtine, pre-1700 writting, pre-1700 writtyn, pre-1700 wrytten, pre-1700 wryttin, pre-1700 wryttine, pre-1700 wrytting, pre-1700 wryttyn, pre-1700 wryttyne, pre-1700 wryttyng, pre-1700 wyrittyn, pre-1700 wyrting, pre-1700 wyrttyn, pre-1700 wyrtyn, pre-1700 wyrtyne, pre-1700 1700s– written, pre-1700 1800s– vritten, 1800s– vrutten, 1900s rittin. OE (Northumbrian) Lindisf. Gospels: John vi. 31 Sicut scribtum est : suæ uuritten is. ▸ a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1882) VIII. 41 As it is i-written in his lyf.a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 6995 In his time war þe fabus written.c1400 in C. Brown Relig. Lyrics 14th Cent. (1924) 157 Tyl a lettre of loue me lede, Þat was wyrtyn on a wall.a1500 (c1425) Andrew of Wyntoun Oryg. Cron. Scotl. (Nero) ii. l. 225 As in þe Bibil wryttyn [a1550 Wemyss writtin] is.1562 A. Brooke tr. M. Bandello Tragicall Hist. Romeus & Iuliet f. 20 Ywritten haue I red,..There is no better way to fishe.1644 J. Milton Areopagitica 33 Things not before discourst or writt'n of.1747 S. Johnson Plan Dict. 12 Many words written alike are differently pronounced.1871 W. Alexander Johnny Gibb xlviii. 330 [How] hisna he vrutten to you.1967 G. F. Fiennes I tried to run Railway iii. 28 He had horse written all over him.2014 B. Chakrabarty Left Radicalism in India (2015) Pref. p. xv I cannot claim to have written a bias-free account. δ. late Middle English–1500s wretton, late Middle English–1500s wrettyn, late Middle English–1600s wretten; Scottish pre-1700 uretten, pre-1700 vrettin, pre-1700 wertyn, pre-1700 wertyne, pre-1700 wretn, pre-1700 wretten, pre-1700 wrettin, pre-1700 wretting, pre-1700 wrettyn, pre-1700 wrettyne. 1428 in J. A. Kingdon Arch. Worshipful Company of Grocers (1886) II. 189 Also for stor lyke as was wretton in þe ȝer affor þat ys to say in barowe hyrdell scaffald.1445 A. Paston in Paston Lett. & Papers (2004) I. 27 Wrettyn in haste at Norwich.c1515 Ld. Berners tr. Bk. Duke Huon of Burdeux (1882–7) cxvi. 407 Letters..wretten on the pament.1660 in L. B. Taylor Aberdeen Council Lett. (1954) IV. 41 It is wrettin to William Thomsone to come home befoir the parliament. ε. late Middle English wrotyn, 1500s roten; U.S. regional 1800s roten, 1800s– wroten; Scottish 1900s roatun. a1475 (a1450) Tournam. of Tottenham (Harl.) (1930) l. 85 A broche on hur brest..With þe holy rode tokenyng was wrotyn [emended in ed. to wrethyn] for þe nonys.1857 J. D. Long Pictures of Slavery 295 Bress de Lord, I feel dat my name is roten on his hands. ζ. Scottish pre-1700 vrayting, pre-1700 wraitten. 1544 in A. I. Cameron Sc. Corr. Mary of Lorraine (1927) 90 Dissayring..syk niscessers as hir grace..hes vrayting for vith hir imbassaturs.a1614 J. Melville Autobiogr. & Diary (1842) 367 I have wraitten a special treatise thairof. η. Scottish pre-1700 wrotten, pre-1700 wrottin. 1586 in Cal. State Papers Scotl. (1914) VIII. 474 Since Captain Hakerstoun's leat conference vithe thearle of Leicester his lordship hes wrottin the more earnestly.1614 in R. Pitcairn Criminal Trials Scotl. (1833) III. 305 This memoriall wes wrotten by my lordes own dyteing. (ii). α. Middle English iwrite, Middle English iwrithe, Middle English iwryte, Middle English ywrite, Middle English ywryte, Middle English–1500s (1600s Scottish) wryte, Middle English–1600s (1700s Scottish) write, 1600s wright; U.S. regional 1900s– write ((in African-American usage)). a1200 (?c1175) Poema Morale (Trin. Cambr.) l. 228 in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1873) 2nd Ser. 227 [A] boc hit is write.a1225 (?OE) MS Vesp. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 241 Hit is iwrite Nemo [etc.].c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) l. 1901 Ywrite [?a1425 Digby wryte, a1450 London Univ. y wrytten, c1450 Cambr. Univ. wryten] was lo þis.a1450 St. Edith (Faust.) (1883) l. 1266 Þe sothe as y fynd in story y-wryte.1501 Alcock's Mons Perfectionis (new ed.) sig. Ci^v/2 Cryst cam into þ^e worlde as it is wryte.1678 in 12th Rep. Royal Comm. Hist. MSS (1890) App. v. 53 Hee has wright my Lord all perticulars.1705 Earl of Seafield Let. 18 July in P. H. Brown Lett. Scotl. Reign Queen Anne (1915) 61 It is write by one I can trust. 1953 E. B. Atwood Surv. Verb Forms Eastern U.S. 26 The uninflected write is used by two Negro informants. β. Middle English iwrete, Middle English wrete, Middle English ywrete; Scottish pre-1700 wreat, pre-1700 wreit, pre-1700 wreitt, pre-1700 1700s wreate. c1300 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Otho) (1978) l. 11468 Þat soþe his iwrete.a1475 (?a1430) J. Lydgate tr. G. Deguileville Pilgrimage Life Man (Vitell.) l. 10008 The word ywrete in sapyence.?1499 J. Skelton Bowge of Courte (de Worde) sig. Biv^v On that sleue these wordes were wrete.1694 J. Anderson Let. 2 May in J. Grant Seafield Corr. 1685–1708 (1912) 144 The Secretarys are wreitt to anent it.1701 in J. Hunter Diocese & Presbytery Dunkeld (1918) II. 324 [The presbytery appointed him] to be wreate to keep [etc.]. γ. Middle English iwritte, Middle English iwrytte, Middle English wrytte, Middle English ywritte, Middle English ywrytt, Middle English (1500s–1600s archaic) ywrit, Middle English–1500s wryt, Middle English–1600s writte, Middle English–1600s wrytt, Middle English–1700s writt, Middle English– writ (now chiefly regional, archaic or nonstandard, except in Phrases 3a), 1500s ywritt (archaic), 1800s rit (U.S. regional); N.E.D. (1928) also records a form late Middle English whritte. ?c1335 in W. Heuser Kildare-Gedichte (1904) 89 Þes wordes þat ich speke nou last, In latin hit is iwritte in boke.1457 W. Worcester in Paston Lett. & Papers (2004) II. 172 Wryt hastly at London the fyrst day of Maij.1590 E. Spenser Faerie Queene i. x. sig. I7^v Her sacred Booke, with blood ywritt.1681 W. Penn in Mem. Hist. Soc. Pennsylvania (1826) I. 204 I have..writt truth.1745 Earl of Chesterfield Private Corr. Chesterfield & Newcastle 1744–46 (1930) 6 If I could have writt to 'em myself to-night.1859 Ld. Tennyson Elaine in Idylls of King 205 The letter..being writ And folded.1999 J. Lethem Motherless Brooklyn 93 They sticker pay phones with their phone number, writ in phosphorescent font.2001 Edmonton (Alberta) Jrnl. (Nexis) 9 Feb. e1 This week it was presto-changeo time again, writ large. δ. late Middle English wret, late Middle English wrett, late Middle English ywret, late Middle English–1500s wrette; Scottish pre-1700 werit, pre-1700 wrett, 1800s (1900s Shetland) wret. 1423 in Hist. MSS Comm.: Rep. MSS Var. Coll. (1907) IV. 83 in Parl. Papers (Cd. 3218) LXIV. 1 Y wret at Exeter the day..a bove y sayd.1507 Treat. Nycodemus Gospell sig. Eiii Both byllys were all one hande as though one man had wrette them both.1646 in Hamilton Papers (1880) 126 The other was wrett yesternight.1914 J. S. Angus Gloss. Shetland Dial. 158 Wret,..to write; p.t. and pa.p. wret. ε. 1500s– wrote (now regional or nonstandard), 1600s wroate; Scottish 1800s vrote. 1565 T. Stapleton tr. Bede Hist. Church Eng. 2nd Ep. Ded. f. 12^v Such thinges as I haue wrote of the most holy father.1637 J. Taylor Drinke & Welcome sig. D^v So I..Have wroate a hotchpotch.1728 E. Chambers Cycl. at Verse The Books themselves were wrote [1738 written] all running, without any Divisions, Points, &c.1847 C. Dickens Dombey & Son (1848) xxxiv. 344 Has she wrote to me?1999 T. Etchells Endland Stories 16 Shane + Meniscus = Trouble, someone had wrote up in the wrecking yard of a old factory. ζ. 1500s wrotte, 1500s–1700s wrot, 1600s wrott; Scottish pre-1700 wrott, 1700s wrot. 1575 G. Gascoigne Fruites of Warre xcii, in Posies sig. Iiii When workes of warre are wrotte by such as I.1693 S. Pepys in H. Ellis Orig. Lett. Eminent Literary Men (1843) (Camden) 212 As had they been wrott on purpose.1710 H. Prideaux Orig. & Right Tithes iii. 154 An exhortatory Epistle wrot to him. η. Scottish 1800s wrate, 1900s vrat (north-eastern). 1897 Shetland News 15 May 8/1 Dis time he's wrate a sicht mair.1916 G. Abel Wylins 138 He saw dool's signature wis vrat. b. Weak. α. Middle English wretyd. Compare before-written adj. at before adv., prep., conj., and n. Compounds 2a.1346 in J. B. Heath Some Acct. Worshipful Company of Grocers (1869) 41 Alle these xxij persones before wretyd. β. English regional 1900s– writed. 1993 S. Stewart Ramlin Rose xiii. 128 The uniform shirtses and undervests for Fellas Morton, with ‘Fellas’ writed on their tin buttons. Origin: A word inherited from Germanic. Etymology: Cognate with Old Frisian wrīta to write (West Frisian write to tear, to ache), Middle Dutch wrīten to twist (Dutch wrijten to cut down, to trim, to twist, to ache, to resist, to wrestle), Old Saxon wrītan to write, to lacerate (Middle Low German wrīten to tear, to write), Old High German rīzan to scratch, to write (Middle High German rīzen to tear, to scratch, to write, German reißen to tear, to tug, to snatch, (now archaic) to draw), early Scandinavian (runic: Sweden) waritu I write, Old Icelandic ríta to scratch, to sketch, to write, and (probably partly < Low German) Swedish rita to scratch, to carve, to engrave, to embroider, to draw, to paint, to write, to tear, to tug, to ache; further etymology unknown.Early history in Germanic. The original sense of the Germanic verb was evidently ‘to scratch’. For parallels to the semantic development from ‘to scratch’ to ‘to write’, compare classical Latin scrībere and the Indo-European forms cited at scribe v., and also the ancient Greek forms cited at character n. Cognates of the verb may also include Middle Low German rīten to tear, to scratch, to ache, and Middle Dutch rīten to tear, to split (Dutch rijten ), if the absence of the initial w- in those is to be explained by the influence of High German. Alternatively, they may reflect a verb (of unknown origin) in the sense ‘to tear’ which merged with the High German cognate of write v. after the regular loss of w- in the initial consonant cluster wr- in that language. (Compare also Old Saxon hrītan to scratch, perhaps ultimately resulting from the same merger.) Verb class and related weak verbs. In Old English a strong verb of Class I, with a long vowel in the present stem. A rare weak verb writian (Class II) seems also to be attested, probably in the sense ‘to paint, to portray’, probably with a short stem vowel: compare Old Icelandic rita to write and (perhaps also with a short vowel) Old High German rizōn (rare) to scratch. For further weak verb formations see rit v.¹ and compare Old Saxon hrittian to plough furrows, to carve in, to write (compare discussion above). Form history. The distinction between Forms 1aα. and 1aβ. is partly arbitrary: some instances of the forms at 1aα. and 1aβ. may instead reflect pronunciation with a short or long vowel respectively. The origin of the short vowel variant suggested by Forms 1aβ. is unclear: it may be due to the influence of the past participle or 3rd singular indicative (compare Forms 1b). Although such forms are predominantly northern, influence of an early Scandinavian cognate of Old Icelandic rita ‘to write’ (a weak verb) is made unlikely by an almost complete absence of weak inflections in Middle English. Compare similar forms at bite v., smite v., and shit v. Middle English and early modern English instances at Forms 1aγ. partly reflect early stages of the Great Vowel Shift (compare wreyte; similarly whrayt at Forms 1aδ. ), and probably partly also reflect a sporadic lowering of short i (compare the β. forms) to short e in the vicinity of a labial in late Middle English. The Scottish instances show the apparent merger of the reflex of early Scots ī with the reflex of long open ē , especially under the influence of a preceding labial (compare A. J. Aitken & C. Macafee Older Sc. Vowels (2002) §14.3.(10)), while Scottish forms at 1aδ. show merger with the reflex of early Scots ā (compare also Forms 2a(i)δ. , resulting from the same mergers). Forms 2a(i)ε. are probably the result of the combined influence of the past participle (compare Forms 3a(ii)γ. ) and of past tense forms of (historically weak) verbs like hit v., slit v., spit v.²; compare similar early modern English forms at the (historically strong) verbs glide v., ride v., smite v., bite v., and compare also abide v. and discussion at that entry. Forms 2a(ii)β. reflect back mutation in the past tense plural (before the back vowel of the ending) in non-West Saxon dialects of Old English (here in sources influenced by Mercian). Similar forms of the past participle (see 3a(i)β. and 3a(ii)β. ) in early use are probably after the past plural. Forms 2a(ii)γ. and the post-1350 forms at 3a(i)β. and 3a(ii)β. are of a different origin, showing lengthening of short i to long close ē in an open syllable. Prefixed forms in Old English. In Old English the prefixed form gewrītan (compare y- prefix) is also attested in the senses ‘to write, to grant in writing or by writing, to write together’; compare also awrītan awrite v., bewrītan to cut or score (a line) around, to inscribe (compare be- prefix and bewrite v.), forwrītan to cut through (compare for- prefix¹), miswrītan miswrite v., underwrītan underwrite v.¹, ymbwrītan to cut or score (a line) around (compare umbe- prefix). While gewrītan is significantly less common than the unprefixed verb, awrītan is frequent (it is attested earlier in sense 7). The sense ‘to cut through’ attested for forwrītan is probably also shown by the unprefixed verb (one isolated attestation in use with reference to bread, alternatively perhaps ‘to tear (apart)’); compare the senses of the West Germanic parallels. Specific senses. In sense 28 after classical Latin scrībere scribe v. in the same sense; compare Middle French escrire (late 14th cent. in Froissart in the same sense: see scrieve v.¹). †I. To cut or draw (a mark, image, etc.) into or on to an object. 1. transitive. To cut or engrave (a mark or image) into a surface or object. Also: to draw or paint (a picture or representation of something) on a surface; to portray. Obsolete (archaic and poetic after Middle English).Old and Middle English examples of sense 2 in which the reference is to engraving or incising letters, symbols, etc., into a surface such as stone or wax can often be interpreted as specific uses of this sense.In quot. OE¹ referring to a scene depicted on a sword hilt, but the sense is disputed and the word has alternatively been interpreted as referring to a runic inscription. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > painting and drawing > drawing > draw [verb (transitive)] writeeOE drawa1398 descrivec1400 describe1538 to draw forth1539 to set out1545 design1570 to draw out1576 detrain1587 lineate16.. linea1616 redraw1728 society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > plastic art > sculpture or carving > incising or intaglio > incise (marks or figures) [verb (transitive)] writeeOE gravec1275 raspc1400 insculp?a1475 insculpt1487 scrape1532 sculp?1533 engrave1542 enchase1579 incarve1596 engraven1605 trencha1616 scratch1644 style1864 lithograph1872 scribe1896 eOE King Ælfred tr. Gregory Pastoral Care (Hatton) (1871) xxi. 161 Nim sume tigelan, & lege beforan ðe, & writ on hiere ða burg Hierusalem. eOE Bald's Leechbk. (Royal) (1865) ii. lxv. 290 Writ þonne þam horse on þam heafde foran cristes mæl. OE Beowulf (2008) 1688 Hroðgar..hylt sceawode, ealde lafe. On ðæm wæs or writen fyrngewinnes. OE Prose Charm: St. Columkill's Circle (Vitell. E.xviii) in G. Storms Anglo-Saxon Magic (1948) 309 Writ þysne circul mid þines cnifes orde on anum mealmstane. c1225 (?c1200) St. Katherine (Bodl.) (1981) l. 68 [She] wrat on hire breoste..þe hali rode-taken. a1425 (?a1400) G. Chaucer Romaunt Rose (Hunterian) (1891) l. 413 Another thing was don there write That semede lyk an Ipocrite. a1450 in J. Kail 26 Polit. Poems (1904) 102 Þy countretayle þey wil shewe, þe skore, In helle or in heuene, wreten trewe. 1590 E. Spenser Faerie Queene ii. viii. sig. T8^v Guyons shield..Whereon the Faery Queenes pourtract was writt. II. To make letters, numbers, etc., on a surface, esp. using a pen, pencil, or similar implement, and related senses. 2. a. transitive. To form or delineate (a letter, symbol, word, etc.) on a surface, typically paper, with a pen, pencil, or similar implement. Also: to carve, engrave, or incise (characters of this type) into a stone tablet or similar surface; to trace out (such characters) in the sand, the earth, etc.Old and Middle English examples in which the reference is to engraving or incising letters, symbols, etc., into a surface such as stone or wax can often be interpreted as specific uses of sense 1. ΘΚΠ society > communication > writing > [verb (transitive)] > a letter or symbol writeOE trace1390 society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > plastic art > sculpture or carving > incising or intaglio > incise (marks or figures) [verb (transitive)] > form by incising writeOE incise1633 OE West Saxon Gospels: Luke (Corpus Cambr.) xvi. 6 Nim þine feðere & site hraðe & writ fiftig. c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) Ded. l. 104 Þatt he. An boc staff write twiȝȝess. c1300 Havelok (Laud) (1868) l. 2481 We deme, þat..þare be writen þise leteres: ‘Þis is þe swike’ [etc.]. a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1876) VI. 221 He fonde þre R and þre F i-write. ?c1425 Crafte Nombrynge in R. Steele Earliest Arithm. in Eng. (1922) 16 Þat digit þat þou hast y-write. 1521 A. Barclay Introd. Frenche sig. Bj Whan .P. is wryten in the ende of a worde in frenche. 1561 in Archaeologia (1770) 1 16 To the peynter for wrighting the scripture. 1614 W. Raleigh Hist. World i. iii. i. §6. 12 It was as easie..to erre in writing two for sixe and twentie, as for three and twentie. 1648 T. Hill Best & Worst of Paul 15 Some tell us Jeremiah and Zachary written contractively in the Hebrew are the same. 1735 S. Johnson tr. J. Lobo Voy. Abyssinia 4 Unhappily, the Secretary wrote Zeila for Dancala. 1845 Kitto's Cycl. Bibl. Lit. (1849) I. 601 At other times they [sc. hieroglyphics] are phonetic, and written by an alphabet of about 140 letters. 1887 A. J. Ellis in Encycl. Brit. XXII. 381 Some system of writing speech-sounds. 1967 P. McKee Eng. for Meaning 58 Help pupils see the need for writing neat letters. 2000 K. Shamsie Salt & Saffron (2001) x. 99 I traced his name on my wrist, in Urdu. Wrote the letters separately..and thought, Too curvy. 2018 @MaceSergal 10 Feb. in twitter.com (accessed 22 Feb. 2021) Jewish-European immigrants would go to England, they couldn't write the English language, and as their signature they would write a circle. b. transitive. With the surface on which the letters, etc., are inscribed specified in a prepositional phrase introduced by on, or upon (also) in. Cf. sense 3b.Often with reference to the engraving or incising letters, symbols, etc., into a surface such as stone or wax; Old and Middle English examples of this type can often be interpreted as specific uses of sense 1. ΚΠ eOE Bald's Leechbk. (Royal) (1865) i. xxxix. 104 Genim æt fruman hæslenne sticcan oþþe ellenne, writ þinne naman on. OE Maxims I 138 Ræd sceal mon secgan, rune writan. a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1882) VIII. 63 (MED) Þere [at King Arthur's tomb] was i-founde a croys of leede, and a stoon þeruppon, and lettres i-wrete wiþynne in þe croys i-torned toward the stoon..Hic jacet..rex Arthurus. ?a1425 (c1400) Mandeville's Trav. (Titus C.xvi) (1919) 10 (MED) In the dust & in the powder of þo hilles þei wroot lettres & figures with hire fyngres. ?a1556 Grey Friars Chron. anno 1547 in R. Howlett Monumenta Franciscana (1882) II. 215 Alle churches new whytte-lymed, with the commandmenttes wryttyn on the walles. 1583 J. Craig Short Summe Whole Catech. f. 45^v The names of all the subscribers contained in the principall copie, written in parchment, and kept in the hands of the Ministers. 1649 J. Ogilby tr. Virgil Bucolics v. 13 I'll try that Song on the green Beech I writ. ?1697 J. Lewis Mem. Duke of Glocester (1789) 77 He made an Epitaph..to be wrote on a stone. 1743 A. Pope Dunciad (rev. ed.) iii. 325 On Poets Tombs see Benson's titles writ. 1831 F. Palgrave Hist. Anglo-Saxons vii. 153 The slips of bamboo upon which the inhabitants..write or scratch their compositions with a bodkin. 1857 F. Locker London Lyrics 51 It was I wrote her name on the sand. 1906 J. H. Breasted Hist. Egypt xiii. 249 They must be written on papyrus and the roll placed in the tomb. 2021 @IthacanOnline 21 Feb. in twitter.com (accessed 22 Feb. 2021) Approximately 30 protesters gathered outside the PRW Center with signs and dyes to write messages in the snow. 3. a. intransitive. To inscribe letters, symbols, words, etc., on paper or another surface, typically using a pen, pencil, or similar implement; to engage in or perform the action of writing. In later use sometimes: spec. to have the ability to produce coherent writing in this way.to read and write: see read v. Phrases 5. ΘΚΠ society > communication > writing > [verb (intransitive)] awriteeOE writeOE scrievec1390 to drive a pen (also quill)1788 pen-and-ink1801 screeve1851 pen1904 OE King Ælfred tr. Psalms (Paris) (2001) xliv. 2 Min tunge ys gelicost þæs writeres feþere þe hraðost writ [L. calamus scribae uelociter scribentis]. c1225 (?c1200) St. Juliana (Bodl.) l. 778 He þet her least on wrat swa as he cuðe. a1350 Recipe Painting in Archæol. Jrnl. (1844) 1 64 (MED) Tac a lutel ere-wax ant pute therin, ant thenne writ. a1400 (a1325) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Trin. Cambr.) (1887) App. BB. 828 He bad & wrot & radde & huld godes seruise. 1474 W. Caxton tr. Game & Playe of Chesse (1883) iii. iii. 93 Penne to wryte wyth And that ben the Instrumentis & the offices that ben made and put in writynge autentyque. a1513 W. Dunbar Ballat Abbot of Tungland in Poems (1998) I. 56 He cowth wryte and reid. c1524 R. Croke in H. Ellis Orig. Lett. Eng. Hist. (1846) 3rd Ser. I. 336 Provided that no man may force hym [sc. a pupil] to wryte oonles I be there presente, to dyrecte..his said hande and stile. 1590 P. Bales Writing Schoolemaster (title page) The Arte of Brachygraphie: that is, to write as fast as a man speaketh treatably. 1626 G. Sandys tr. Ovid Metamorphosis ix. 187 Then fits her trembling hands to write: One holds the wax, the style the other guides. 1661 R. Boyle Some Consider. Style of Script. (1675) 159 We think they write backwards, and they, that we do. 1738 A. Pope One Thousand Seven Hundred & Thirty Eight Dialogue II 12 Chartres scarce could write or read. 1859 E. FitzGerald tr. Rubáiyát Omar Khayyám li. 11 The Moving Finger writes; and, having writ, Moves on. 1864 J. H. Burton Scot Abroad I. iii. 148 A fat philosopher sitting writing..with a goose quill. 1949 G. R. Stewart Earth Abides (1989) ii. ii. 179 We ought to be teaching the children to read and write. 2015 New Yorker 16 Nov. 69/1 A scribe had scraped away at a tenth-century copy and written over it. 2020 Sentinel (Stoke) (Nexis) 3 Jan. 4 At school she had to learn how to write and do everything with her left hand from scratch. b. intransitive. With the surface on which the letters, etc., are inscribed specified in a prepositional phrase introduced by on, or upon, (also) in. Also in figurative context. Cf. sense 2b.Often with reference to the engraving or incising letters, symbols, etc., into a surface such as stone or wax; with Old and Middle English examples of this kind compare sense 1. ΚΠ OE Ælfric Catholic Homilies: 2nd Ser. (Cambr. Gg.3.28) xxviii. 253 Þærrihte wearð gesewen swilce anes mannes hand writende on ðære healle wage. OE West Saxon Gospels: John (Corpus Cambr.) viii. 6 Se hælend abeah nyþer & wrat mid his fingre on þære eorþan. a1450 (a1400) Medit. Life & Passion of Christ (BL Add.) (1921) l. 842 On þi forhed so whit so snow Thou writest with a thorny bow. a1525 (c1448) R. Holland Bk. Howlat l. 206 in W. A. Craigie Asloan MS (1925) II. 101 He couth wryte..With his neb for mistar Apon ye se sand. 1674 C. F. Wit at Venture 85 They write in sand when they make oaths. 1797 Encycl. Brit. XVIII. 917/2 The Chinese..wrote or engraved with an iron tool upon thin boards or on bamboo. 1818 S. Weston La Scava 31 A great quantity of styles to write with on wax-tablets. 1856 B. Seemann Pop. Hist. Palms 65 The coarser parts [of the fibre]..found with this ‘vegetable horsehair’, are used by all the tribes who write on paper as pens. 1970 M. Hodge Crick crack Monkey (1981) vii. 40 And in Big-school you don't write on a slate no man you write on paper. 2013 Daily Oklahoman (Nexis) 10 Oct. 1 d You were in trouble for writing on walls with Crayolas, and most of the time it was just scribbles. c. intransitive. Of a pen or other writing implement: to perform its function as an implement for writing; esp. to work correctly or in the specified way. Also of ink: to appear a specified colour. ΚΠ 1598 W. Shakespeare Love's Labour's Lost i. ii. 175 Deuise Wit, write Pen, for I am for whole volumes in folio. View more context for this quotation 1733 A. Pope 1st Satire 2nd Bk. Horace Imitated ii. i. 15 Whether the..whiten'd Wall provoke the Skew'r to write. 1742 T. Gray Let. July in Corr. (1971) I. 215 My haveing at last found a Pen, that writes. 1786 S. Taylor Shorthand Writing 98 A steel or a silver one [sc. pen] that will write fine. 1866 Alloa (Clackmannanshire) Advertiser 15 Dec. 1/6 (advt.) Murray's Edinburgh Writing Fluid. Prepared expressly for the use of Steel Pens, writes Blue, perfectly fluid and clear, turning shortly afterwards a Deep Permanent Black. 1888 Knowledge 2 July 209/1 A pen which writes with absolute smoothness. 1928 Wichita (Kansas) Sunday Eagle 24 June a/2 The world is not at the end of progress yet. Some day some one will come along with a fountain pen which will write black, blue and red. 1951 E. Sovola Monday follows Tuesday 36 The pen wrote beautifully. 1955 K. Hutton & A. Swallow Chem. for Gen. Sci. xiv. 212 The ordinary blue-black ink writes blue and turns black and permanent later. 2014 Breaking News: globeandmail.com (Nexis) 14 Apr. This is a great pen, this pen writes upside down. d. intransitive. To use cursive or joined-up handwriting. Also transitive: to inscribe (a word, esp. one's name) using this type of writing. Only in contrast to print (see print v. 12). ΚΠ 1851 Rep. Schools Nova Scotia, 1850 57 They write and print letters. 1921 Pop. Sci. Monthly Dec. 14/1 (advt.) Write or print your name on the coupon and send it in today. 1960 H. Lee To kill Mockingbird (1963) i. ii. 24 We don't write in the first grade, we print. 2013 H. A. Stein et al. Ophthalmic Assistant (ed. 9) v. 696/1 Marking pens are nylon or felt-tipped with which one can write or print. 4. a. transitive. To set down (words) in written form so that they can be read or referred to; to commit (a form of words or piece or text, a scribal copy, etc.) to paper or another medium. Also with various metonymic subjects, such as the pen or hand. ΘΚΠ society > communication > writing > [verb (transitive)] awriteeOE writeOE speak?c1225 paintc1400 conscribec1487 blecka1500 cipher1565 letter1570 characterize1581 character1589 bewrite1660 scriven1680 quill1768 screeve1851 society > communication > writing > [verb (transitive)] > set down in writing adighteOE to set on writea900 dightc1000 writeOE brevea1225 layc1330 indite1340 take1418 annote1449 printa1450 scribe1465 redact?a1475 reduce1485 letter1504 recite1523 to commit to writing (also paper)1529 pen1530 reduce?1533 token up1535 scripture1540 titulea1550 to set down1562 quote1573 to put down1574 paper1594 to write down1594 apprehend1611 fix1630 exarate1656 depose1668 put1910 society > leisure > the arts > literature > art or occupation of writer or author > be the author of or write (a work) [verb (transitive)] > express in written work or write about writeOE inditea1340 pena1527 pursue1558 to lay down1583 discur1586 paper1594 style1605 word1613 exercisea1616 bescribble1643 describble1794 bewrite1875 OE Blickling Homilies 133 Se Halga Gast dihtode ealle þa þing þe halige men writon. c1225 (?c1200) St. Margaret (Royal) (1934) 53 (MED) Hire bone wes þet ich hit write on boc-felle. c1390 (a1376) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Vernon) (1867) A. i. l. 174 Þeos beþ wordes I-writen In þe Ewangelye. a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add. 27944) (1975) II. xv. cxxvii. 801 A penne may nouȝt wryte atte fulle þe preisynge of þis kyngedome. ?a1475 Lessons of Dirige (Douce) l. 566 in J. Kail 26 Polit. Poems (1904) 139 Who may graunte me thys boone, That my wordes wreten were In ensample of euerychon? 1526 W. Bonde Pylgrimage of Perfection Pref. sig. Aiii These instruccions, that I haue gathered and writen for you. a1616 W. Shakespeare King John (1623) iv. i. 37 Can you not reade it? Is it not faire writ ? View more context for this quotation 1681 S. Fell in Jrnl. Friends' Hist. Soc. (1912) 9 136 At leasure it may bee written faire in the Booke. 1788 C. Reeve Exiles III. 191 I will get these instructions wrote in a proper form. 1825 J. F. Cooper Lionel Lincoln III. 258 At the close of his long life, he wrote Gen., Bart., and M.P. after his name. 1941 ‘Gypsy Rose Lee’ G-String Murders (2005) iv. 47 The pad of paper rested against the window sill and a delicate brown hand wrote the Chinese version of twelve egg rolls and ten orders of roast pork. 2017 Public Opinion (Chambersburg, Pa.) (Nexis) 22 Jan. b7 Using a permanent marker or china pencil, write the seed's name, the mature size and planting instructions. 2018 @amersham_sci 12 Oct. in twitter.com (accessed 22 Feb. 2021) Extracting DNA, looking at fingerprints and trying to find which pen wrote the ransom note. b. transitive. To enter (a name, date, etc.) in a roll, account, or similar document; to register; (also more generally) to include (a person or thing) in a list in this way. In Middle English often (and sometimes in later use) in spiritual contexts with reference to God, the Devil, etc., recording a person's name amongst those destined for heaven or hell. ΘΚΠ society > communication > record > written record > record in writing [verb (transitive)] > enter on record writeOE setc1175 embreve?c1225 enrolc1350 enter1389 rollc1400 enact1467 act1475 enchroniclea1513 ascribe1532 re-enter1535 to put down1574 register1597 inscroll1600 emologea1639 spread1823 to book in1860 to sign on1879 log1889 sign1894 to sign out1916 to sign in1924 OE tr. Chrodegang of Metz Regula Canonicorum (Corpus Cambr. 191) lxxiii. 313 Ða mæssepreostas underfon þæs folces teoðuncga and habbon ealra þæra syllendra naman gewriten ofer heora weofod [L. scripta habeant super altare]. c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 3554 He shall writenn alle þa Þatt cwemmdenn himm o life. Onn eche lifess bokess writt. a1225 (?OE) MS Lamb. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 21 Þe deofel..writ heo [sc. a sin] in his tables. 1346 in J. B. Heath Some Acct. Worshipful Company of Grocers (1869) 41 Alle these xxij persones before wretyd. c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) Heb. xii. 23 Ȝe han come nyȝ to..the chirche of the firste men, the whiche ben writun in heuenes. a1450 (a1400) Medit. Life & Passion of Christ (BL Add.) (1921) l. 884 To writon vs in bok þat neuere failes. c1475 (?c1400) Apol. Lollard Doctr. (1842) 4 (MED) Joi ȝe þat ȝor namis are writun in heuen. 1535 Bible (Coverdale) Isa. iv. B All soch as are written amonge the lyuynge at Ierusalem. 1595 E. Spenser Amoretti lxxv, in Amoretti & Epithalamion sig. E7 My verse..shall..in the heuens wryte your glorious name. 1623 H. Cockeram Eng. Dict. ii. s.v. To Write his name to a Band. 1715 J. Addison Spectator No. 568. ¶3 [He] had written the Names of several Persons..at the Side of every Sin..mentioned by that excellent Author. 1773 R. Fergusson Poems 111 To hae your name Wrote in the bonny book of fame. 1877 M. Oliphant Makers of Florence (ed. 2) i. 2 The names of the older generations are writ in brass on the glowing walls of the Inferno. 1885 ‘Mrs. Alexander’ At Bay v. 75 Glynn took her programme and wrote his own name for several waltzes. 1910 H. Graham Mother of Parl. (1911) viii. 146 The Speaker first takes the oath in a very similar fashion, and writes his name in the Roll of Members. 2021 P. O'Brien Unknown Vengeance (e-book, accessed 13 June 2021) xiii I noticed it when Alyssa wrote their names on the board. I thought it was interesting that both of the first two victims' last names started with a C, and the next two started with an H. c. transitive. To employ (Old or New Style) when giving dates in writing. Cf. new style n., old style n. 1. rare (now historical). ΘΚΠ the world > time > reckoning of time > chronology > arrange chronologically [verb (transitive)] > mark with the date > employ in dating write1651 1651 J. Marius Advice Bills of Exchange 3 In Hamborrough they doe write the same stile with us here in England, namely old stile: but in all other parts beyond the Seas, generally they doe write new stile, which is ten days before us. 1999 D. Merwick Death of Notary (2002) i. 32 The English, however, preferred the ‘old style’ Julian calendar. Now he carefully returns to writing ‘new style’. †d. transitive. Of a manuscript: to exhibit (a particular linguistic form or scribal choice). Obsolete. ΘΚΠ society > communication > writing > state of having been written > exhibit in writing (of MS, etc.) [verb (transitive)] write1712 1712 J. Addison Spectator No. 470. ¶1 I have..been informed, that such or such Ancient Manuscripts for an et write an ac. 5. a. transitive. To spell (a word) in a specified way; to set down (a word, letter, symbol, etc.) in a specified form. ΘΚΠ society > communication > writing > spelling > spell [verb (transitive)] writeOE spelderc1175 spella1595 OE Ælfric Gram. (St. John's Oxf.) 265 Þes que is sceort mid þrym stafum gewriten oððe getitelod, and se langa quae, þe is feminvm of quis, sceal beon mid feower stafum q, u, a, e awriten. c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) Ded. l. 109 Forr he ne maȝȝ nohht elless. Onn ennglissh writenn rihht te word. a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add. 27944) (1975) II. xviii. lxxxv. 1236 Þis name pigargus haþ non aspiracioun in þe firste sillable and so it schal nouȝt be writen wiþ h. But some men writen phigargus and doon amys. 1487 (a1380) J. Barbour Bruce (St. John's Cambr.) x. 748 And for this word scho gert vrit swa, Men wend the franch-men suld it ta. 1565 W. Alley Πτωχομυσεῖον iii. f. 93^v This worde Caeremonia, is diuersly written, some write it with a diphthonge, other with a single e. a1645 J. Philipot Villare Cantianum (1659) 395/2 Blackmanstone, written Bleachmanstone, that is, Man's bleak Town. 1747 S. Johnson Plan Dict. 12 Many words written alike are differently pronounced. 1828 R. Duppa Trav. Italy 8 In this MS...Virgil is uniformly written Vergil. 1865 A. Way in Promptorium Parvulorum p. lxxiii The word written according to the orthography of the period. 1944 Sociometry 7 258 They often write it [sc. nature] with a capital ‘N’ and endow it with all the teleological virtues of a universal alma mater. 2016 K. Norman Bridge over Blood River 240 ‘How do you write your name?’ he asks me. b. intransitive. To represent words and speech sounds orthographically; to spell words in writing. ΘΚΠ society > communication > writing > spelling > spell [verb (intransitive)] spelderc1175 spelea1400 spella1400 writec1620 c1620 A. Hume Of Orthogr. Britan Tongue (1870) i. viii. §4 I wald understand quhy they wryte not as they speak. 1704 J. Pitts True Acct. Mohammetans Pref. sig. A4^v I..writ as near, as I could, to their way of speaking it. 1877 Month Apr. 492 The first writers of English wrote phonetically. 1985 E. Gordon & T. Deverson N.Z. Eng. 15 Because the early settlers and their children wrote in standard spelling we cannot tell how they pronounced their words. †6. transitive. To put one's mark or signature on (a charter or other document) as a token of witness or authorization. Also reflexive: to identify oneself on a document in this way. Obsolete. ΚΠ eOE (Kentish) Charter: Lufu to Christ Church, Canterbury (Sawyer 1197) in N. P. Brooks & S. E. Kelly Charters of Christ Church Canterbury, Pt. 2 (2013) 743 Ic Ceolnoð mid Godes gefe ercebiscop mid Cristes rodetacne ðis festnie & write. lOE Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Laud) (Peterborough interpolation) anno 963 Her wæs Ælfstan biscop..& feola oðre rice men, & ealle hit geatton, & ealle hit writen mid Cristes mæl. ?1435 in C. L. Kingsford Chrons. London (1905) 22 (MED) I, Richard, kyng aforseyd, with myn owne hande have wretyn me vnderneth here. 7. transitive. To mark or cover (paper or a similar surface) with letters, symbols, words, etc.; to inscribe with. Also: to carve, engrave, or incise characters of this type into (a stone tablet or similar surface); to trace out such characters in (the sand, the earth, etc.). Chiefly in passive. Also figurative.Quot. OE shows equivalent use of prefixed awrite v. ΘΚΠ society > communication > writing > [verb (transitive)] > cover with writing writec1225 to write over1649 overwrite1820 society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > plastic art > sculpture or carving > incising or intaglio > incise (marks or figures) [verb (transitive)] > incise (a surface) writea1325 gravec1374 engrail1548 incise1567 re-engravea1631 engrave1832 intaglio1847 OE Seven Sleepers (Julius) (1994) 55 He..funde ane leadene tabulan eall awritene, and þa hi openlice rædde.] c1225 (?c1200) Sawles Warde (Bodl.) (1938) 10 Euch an [sc. devil] bereð a gret boc al of sunnen iwriten wið swarte smeale leattres. a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 3613 Oðere tables he brogte eft, writen. a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) (1959) Exod. xxxi. 18 Þe lord ȝaue to Moises..two stonen tablis of wyttnessing: wryten wiþ þe fyngre of god. a1425 (c1384) Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Corpus Oxf.) (1850) Ezek. ii. 9 He leide it [sc. a boke] abrood before me, the which was writen withinforth and withoutforth. a1450 (a1400) Medit. Life & Passion of Christ (BL Add.) (1921) l. 1190 Strong was þy pyne þe to wyte His fayre forhed with þornes wryte. ?1473 W. Caxton in tr. R. Le Fèvre Recuyell Hist. Troye (1894) I. Pref. lf. 2 Aftyr that y had made and wretyn a fyve or six quayers. 1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 499/1 Correcte this boke, it is falce written. 1600 W. Shakespeare Much Ado about Nothing ii. iii. 130 Til she haue writ a sheete of paper. View more context for this quotation 1739 Hist. Wks. Learned I. 103 That the Leaves of these two great Poets were wrote at Random. 1833 Mrs. Stowe in Life (1889) 70 The envelope was written in a scrawny, scrawly, gentleman's hand. a1849 T. L. Beddoes Poems (1851) I. 157 Writing the sand Idly he paused. 1853 D. Rock Church of our Fathers (1903) IV. 87 A small strip of vellum written with the following translation. 1986 Christie's Sale Catal.: Bks from Libr. M. Boulton 12 Dec. 16 Bound in six vols...248 leaves written rectos only (with 1 page on verso in vol. II). 2013 Africa News (Nexis) 25 Aug. Door handles are often stolen, windows recklessly smashed, chairs and desks damaged or defaced, security walls and buildings written with graffiti. 8. transitive. To use (a particular style of handwriting). ΘΚΠ society > communication > writing > handwriting or style of > write in specific style [verb (transitive)] writea1393 a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) viii. l. 887 He..preide hir forto make an ende And wryte ayein hire oghne hond. 1576 A. Fleming tr. Hippocrates in Panoplie Epist. 276 He wrote a running hand. a1616 W. Shakespeare Henry VI, Pt. 2 (1623) iv. ii. 93 Nay, he can..write Court hand. View more context for this quotation 1660 T. Willsford Scales of Comm. To Rdr. sig. A ij Mr. Nathanael Sharp, who writeth all the usuall hands writ in this Nation. 1702 London Gaz. No. 3865/4 Writing a tolerable Clerk's-Hand. 1738 J. Swift Compl. Coll. Genteel Conversat. 28 Whoe'er writ it, writes a Hand like a Foot. 1851 H. Mayhew London Labour I. 313/1 He writes a good hand. 1964 Illustr. London News 28 Nov. 875/3 Cassel's remarkable gift for writing shorthand (he had begun life as a journalist). 2016 J. Gibson in J. Daybell & A. Gordon Cultures of Corr. in Early Mod. Brit. 260 Some women wrote secretary hand, and many could read it. 9. transitive. (in passive). figurative. Of a quality, attribute, feeling, etc.: to be clearly indicated in or discernible from the appearance of a person or thing; esp. to be apparent or unmistakable in a person's face or expression. Usually followed by a prepositional phrase introduced by on, over, (less commonly) in. Now frequently in to be written all over (a person or thing). ΘΚΠ society > communication > indication > marking > mark [verb (transitive)] > a person with some condition or quality record1580 write1594 impicture1595 imprint1712 1594 T. Nashe Vnfortunate Traveller sig. L^v Hauing passioned thus a while, she hastely ranne and lookt her selfe in her glasse to see if her sinne were not written on her forhead. a1616 W. Shakespeare Measure for Measure (1623) iv. ii. 155 There is written in your brow Prouost, honesty and constancie. View more context for this quotation a1653 H. Binning Serm. in Wks. (1845) 648 Insobriety is written upon many passages of your behaviour. 1682 J. Dryden Mac Flecknoe 13 A Tun of Man in thy large Bulk is Writ. 1854 W. M. Thackeray Newcomes I. xxv. 242 Cook and housekeeper is written on her round face. 1866 C. J. Lever Sir Brook Fossbrooke I. 78 One on whom Nature had written gentleman. 1949 W. S. Churchill Second World War II. i. ii. 46 Utter dejection was written on every face. 2013 @jeanneshanerr 7 Dec. in twitter.com (accessed 22 Feb. 2021) I can still hear him say ‘I love you’ like it was yesterday, and you could see it written on my face that I hadn't ever felt that way. 10. transitive. To paint (a commercial sign or advertisement) on the fascia, window, etc., of a shop. Also intransitive. Cf. signwriter n., signwriting n. ΘΚΠ society > communication > indication > that which identifies or distinguishes > signboard > [verb (transitive)] > write signs write1837 society > communication > indication > that which identifies or distinguishes > signboard > [verb (intransitive)] > write signs write1889 1837 N. Whittock et al. Compl. Bk. Trades 358 Most mere house-painters undertake to paint sign boards..and some of them can..write them tolerably well. 1889 W. Sutherland Art & Craft Sign-writing viii. 10/1 Writing upon the glass. 1919 W. H. Leverhulme Six-hour Day & Other Industrial Questions (ed. 2) 130 He wrote a sign and put it up. 2003 Financial Times 7 Oct. (FT Creative Business) 3/3 (heading) The joys of trying to write ad campaigns in a shop window. 11. intransitive. To create text using a typewriter or similar instrument by pressing the keys; to type. Also transitive with the text as object. Now rare. ΘΚΠ society > communication > printing > typing > type [verb (intransitive)] write1874 typewrite1887 type1888 society > communication > printing > typing > type [verb (transitive)] to peck outa1382 pound1865 write1874 typewrite1887 type1888 tickle1926 to tap out1952 1874 Atlanta (Georgia) Daily Herald 17 Feb. The type writer is about the size of an ordinary sewing machine, and is worked with keys similar to piano keys. It is claimed that an expert can write with it readily sixty word [sic], a minute. 1875 E. H. Knight Amer. Mech. Dict. III. 2677/1 Johnston's apparatus for the blind is to enable them to write by pressure upon letters in the required order. 1883 J. G. Petrie Man. for Type-writer 3 The learner must be content to write slowly and deliberately at the commencement. 1883 J. G. Petrie Man. for Type-writer 3 Writing and re-writing familiar words until the fingers run easily. 1907 Pitman's Jrnl. (U.S. ed.) Nov. 312 Rose L. Fritz, writing from copy for one hour, wins [the International Typewriting Trophy] with a net speed of 87 words per minute. 1936 E. G. Blackstone & S. L. Smith Improvem. Instr. Typewriting v. 80 Evaluate the use of keyboard shields, keyboard aprons, and other devices that aim to make the student write by touch. 12. transitive. Of an instrument: to produce (a graphical record of recorded data). Also intransitive. ΘΚΠ society > communication > record > recording or reproducing sound or visual material > record [verb (transitive)] register1797 write1886 record1888 can1907 re-record1927 pre-record1941 pretape1958 audiotape1961 1886 J. Milne Earthquakes ii. 34 To obtain a record of all the vibrations of an earthquake it is necessary that the surface on which the seismograph writes should at the time of an earthquake be in motion. 1949 B. Gutenberg & C. F. Richter Seismicity of Earth 95/1 Tsunamis are frequently recorded on mareograms written by tide gages. 1975 Nature 6 Feb. 423/1 Our predicted signals do not resemble those of typical creep events as written by creepmeters. 1990 M. P. Iturralde Dict. & Handbk. Nucl. Med. & Clin. Imaging (2018) 84/1 A chart recorder saves the information as a graph written by a pen. 13. transitive. Computing. To enter and store (data) on a storage medium or device (such as a disc, tape, or drive), or in a particular location in memory; to enter data on (a storage medium). Also intransitive. Frequently with in, into, on, or to. Cf. read v. 11e. ΘΚΠ society > computing and information technology > data > database > use data [verb (transitive)] > store store1909 write1946 save1961 to back up1967 to read in1970 archive1979 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. 1948 Math. Tables & Other Aids Computation 3 123 The machines will be able to read from, or write on, the tapes. 1966 McGraw-Hill Encycl. Sci. & Technol. (rev. ed.) IV. 188/1 The store instruction selects an address through the selection circuit for writing the contents of the accumulator in the memory location specified. 1970 O. Dopping Computers & Data Processing xiv. 226 The computer time for file maintenance..is often mainly determined by the time for reading and writing magnetic tape. 1980 Sci. Amer. Aug. 114/1 The head that writes the data can also be used to read it. 1991 What Personal Computer Dec. 116/2 These are programs which take over when DOS wants to read or write to the hard disk. 2001 Working from Home Mar. 38/1 There are two types of CD that you can write to. The first is CD-R or writable disk. 2017 M. E. Soper Expanding your Raspberry Pi iii. 50 If you want to write to the drive (copy files to the drive, delete files on the drive, add a folder to the drive, or make other changes), you need to perform two additional tasks. III. To compose a written work or produce a written document, and related senses. 14. a. transitive. To compose (a literary work or other piece of continuous prose, verse, etc.), typically for written or printed reproduction or publication; to put into literary form and set down in writing (a story, tale, etc.); to be the author of (a book, pamphlet, journalistic or scholarly article, etc.). ΘΚΠ society > leisure > the arts > literature > art or occupation of writer or author > be the author of or write (a work) [verb (transitive)] setc888 adighteOE awriteeOE writeeOE dightc1000 workOE makelOE brevea1225 ditea1300 aditec1330 indite1340 betravail1387 compone1393 saya1475 compile1477 compose1483 comprise1485 recite1523 pen1530 contex1542 invent1576 author1597 context1628 to make up1630 spawn1631 society > leisure > the arts > literature > art or occupation of writer or author > be the author of or write (a work) [verb (transitive)] > present by literary treatment beloukOE induce1484 handle1531 introduce1559 manage1697 write1781 plant1948 eOE Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Parker) anno 84 Her Iohannes se godspellere in Pathma þam ealonde wrat þa boc Apocalipsis. a1225 MS Lamb. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 55 For alswa god hit bit, and inne þe godspelle þe he writ. c1405 (c1395) G. Chaucer Clerk's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 1147 Therfore Petrak writeth This storie which he with heigh stile enditeth. 1530 Myroure Oure Ladye (Fawkes) (1873) i. 18 To him that writeth my songe & my praysynge. 1533 J. Gau tr. C. Pedersen Richt Vay 25 Al the buikis..qvhilk..oders cane writ. a1586 Sir P. Sidney Astrophel & Stella (1591) 24 In pearcing phrases late The Anatomie of all my woes I wrate. 1608 A. Willet Hexapla in Exodum 257 When Moses writte that storie. 1652 E. Nicholas Let. 10 Oct. in Papers (1886) I. 311 Pamphlets which..he wrote to persuade those at Westminster to enter into war. a1719 J. Addison Dialogues Medals in Wks. (1721) I. ii. 461 They writ the whole Poem on purpose to abuse the person. 1781 W. Cowper Let. 12 July (1979) I. 497 I have writ Charity..as well as I could. 1819 W. Scott Ivanhoe III. iii. 82 [If] the monks..take not to writing chronicles. 1895 Bookman Oct. 11/2 He is..busy writing the new novel. 1930 Publishers' Weekly 8 Feb. 709/1 They are always striving to write a piece of copy that will be ‘different’. 1990 Paris Rev. Fall 69 When you write a piece of fiction, a hint of unreality always seeps into it. 2018 R. George Nine Pints vi. 210 The magazine writer Frank Bures wrote a book recently. b. transitive. Followed by a prepositional phrase indicating the subject, purpose, intended audience, etc., of the work.In quot. c1400 with the intended audience as indirect object. ΚΠ OE Ælfric Let. to Sigeweard (De Veteri et Novo Test.) (Laud) 53 Marcus se godspellere..wrat þa oðre boc be Petres bodunge. c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 5810 [They] writenn off þe laferrd crist. Goddspell o fowwre bokess. c1400 (c1378) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Laud 581) (1869) B. x. l. 169 I wrote hir many bokes. 1481 W. Caxton in tr. Cicero De Senectute (Caxton) Prohemye sig. 1.2 The polytyque book..whiche that Tullius wrote vpon the disputaconns & commynycacions made to the puissaunt duc Cato. c1520 M. Nisbet New Test. in Scots (1901) I. 17 It was niedful that it [sc. the euangel] war writin alsa aganis heretikis. 1586 G. Whitney Choice of Emblemes Ep. Ded. sig. 4 His priuate bookes he wratte to Traian, of counsell and gouernement. 1685 E. Waller On Divine Poesy* i. 17 Verse so designed, on that high subject wrote. 1715 J. Addison Spectator No. 568. ¶3 Some-body had written a Book against the 'Squire. 1794 A. M. Bennett Ellen II. 47 Volumes wrote on the subject could not do it away. 1820 Q. Musical Mag. 2 68 The character of the Count [in the opera] has been obviously written for Signor Garcia. 1888 J. M. Barrie When Man's Single xi. 180 Mary Abinger..read them [sc. books] proudly, knowing that they were all written for her. 1938 D. Thomas Let. 31 Aug. (1987) 322 He wrote an article about me & said I had the medieval mind. 2002 H. Habila Waiting for Angel (2003) 16 But the poems are harmless. Love poems. And diaries. You wrote the poems for your girl, isn't it? c. transitive. With out of. To remove (a scene, character, etc.) from a dramatic script or story (sometimes spec. by introducing a storyline which accounts for their absence); (in extended use) to exclude or omit (someone or something) from the narrative of historical events (esp. the dominant or established view of the history of a particular period, subject, etc.), or from the normal course of life. Later also with into, with reference to the addition or inclusion of a character, etc. Chiefly in passive. Cf. to write out 3 at Phrasal verbs. ΚΠ 1924 Amarillo (Texas) Globe 14 May 4/7 He is said to have rebelled at the suggestion of the director that he get in the way of the flying dish of ice cream, and the scene had to be written out of the script! 1933 San Antonio (Texas) Light 2 May b 5/2 Sade of ‘Vic and Sade’ was written out of the script for a reason. She married a doctor Saturday and now is on her honeymoon. 1988 B. W. Aldiss Forgotten Life xii. 255 Any country that disarms itself voluntarily..writes itself out of history. 1995 N. Whittaker Platform Souls (1996) xxii. 174 The branch line experience is something else that has been almost written out of British life. 2009 N.Y. Rev. Bks. 26 Mar. 43/2 Some of the family were constitutional nationalists, the people who would be written out of the script of modern Irish history. 2012 New Yorker 23 Apr. 50/2 Kron has since written a scene into the ‘Fun Home’ musical in which Helen plays Mrs. Warren. d. transitive. To create or depict (a character, place, etc.) in a literary or dramatic work. With complement indicating the characteristics, attributes, or purpose of the character, etc. ΚΠ 1931 G. Cooper Gladys Cooper vii. 76 Galsworthy did not want me in the play at all. The part was that of a flapper, and when he saw me with my hair up he said: ‘Oh, no—not at all. She won't do. I wrote the character as a girl with her hair down her back and she must have it down.’ 1993 Albuquerque (New Mexico) Jrnl. 31 Mar. b5/1 (heading) Tim O'Donnell and Richard Gurman write her as a bossy, compulsive, insecure ninny. 2012 Classical Rev. 62 391 She shows how Ennius writes Rome as the fulfilment of the Homeric epic tradition. 2020 @skateordie002 1 Dec. in twitter.com (accessed 2 Mar. 2021) David Cage wrote her as a young woman. 15. a. To engage in or perform the action of expressing ideas, thoughts, stories, etc., in literary form; to compose a literary work or other piece of structured writing. Followed by a prepositional phrase indicating the subject, purpose, intended audience, etc. (a) intransitive. Introduced by about, of, on, upon (formerly also †by, †umbe), indicating a matter, subject, etc., that is being described or discussed. Also introduced by against, †contrary, indicating another writer, who is being controverted, or with to, indicating a person who is being addressed. Cf. branch IV. ΚΠ OE Blickling Homilies 161 Se halga godspellere swa be him wrat. lOE King Ælfred tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. (Bodl.) (2009) I. xviii. 281 Swa some swa þa writeras dydon and eac þa ðe hi ymbe writon. c1230 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Corpus Cambr.) (1962) 209 Ȝe habbeð of þeos blissen iwriten elleshwer. a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) iv. l. 2649 Thilke time at Rome also Was Tullius with Cithero, That writen upon Rethorike. a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) iv. l. 2669 Among the whiche in Poesie To the lovers Ovide wrot. J. Metham Amoryus & Cleopes (1916) l. 524 (MED) Haly the gret clerk..off constellacionnys doth wryght. 1565 T. Cooper Thesaurus at Rescribo To write contrarie or agaynst olde orations. 1644 J. Milton Areopagitica 33 Things not before discourst or writt'n of. 1698 J. Floyer Treat. Asthma (1717) p. i All the Moderns that have Writ on that Subject. 1737 Gentleman's Mag. Aug. 499/2 Had they wrote against the Ministry, we could have borne it. 1743 A. Pope Dunciad (rev. ed.) iv. 252 For thee we..explain a thing till all men doubt it, And write about it, Goddess, and about it. 1819 S. Rogers Human Life 40 Once in thy mirth thou badst me write on thee. 1883 E. B. Tylor in Encycl. Brit. XV. 199/1 Cicero writes of them as wise men, augurs, and diviners. 1951 Jrnl. Hist. Ideas 12 597 Freitag..also wrote against the new Sennerto-Paracelsic sect. 2020 New Yorker 13 Apr. 40/2 We are in the zombie apocalypse, which my students have been writing about for well over a decade, so young people are mentally prepared. (b) intransitive. Introduced by in, indicating a particular style of writing. Cf. sense 15c. ΚΠ 1526 R. Whitford tr. Martiloge f. lviii^v A preest wryteth in a style moche eloquent. 1670 T. Gale Court of Gentiles: Pt. II iv. i. 368 Amongst all Aristotle's Works we find none written in a Dialogick Style, though it be generally confest, he writ many Dialogues. 1713 J. Addison in Guardian 31 July 2/1 Some gave him very loud acclamations,..declaring him the only man who had written in a style which was truly heroical. 1805 W. Roscoe Life Leo X I. Pref. p. xxii His diary is written in a pedestrian and semi-barbarian style. 1888 Sat. Rev. 6 Oct. 417/2 M. Darmesteter has written in a style occasionally a little decadent and over-elaborate. 1933 D. Thomas Coll. Lett. (1987) 61 It is written in a high and wordily romantic style that could, if the attention was shifted only momentarily off its meaning, be turned to bathos. 2013 L. M. Principe Secrets of Alchemy ii. 45 The author writes in a self-consciously grand manner. (c) intransitive. Introduced by for, indicating the medium, publication, patron, etc., for which a work is created. Also occasionally introduced by on, indicating a publication employing the writer or journalist. ΚΠ 1668 J. Dryden Of Dramatick Poesie 39 We have invented, increas'd and perfected a more pleasant way of writing for the Stage then was ever known to the Ancients or Moderns of any Nation, which is Tragicomedie. 1749 T. Smollett Regicide Pref. sig. A2^v A Gentleman who had wrote for the Stage. 1817 S. T. Coleridge Coll. Lett. (1959) IV. 721 None but men of fortune can afford to write for the Theatre. 1889 Universal Rev. Oct. 215 The man who writes for the Telegraph must write Telegraphese. 1895 T. H. S. Escott Platform, Press 281 The Daily News, on which Pigott once wrote. 1919 T. S. Eliot Let. 2 Oct. (1988) I. 337 I enclose a letter which shows that I have been asked to write for the Times Literary Supplement—to write the Leading Article from time to time. 1992 Cambr. Anc. Hist. (ed. 2) V. 238 He wrote for patrons from many parts of the Greek world. 2001 Wasafiri Autumn 17/1 My background is in poetry. And when I wrote for theatre I always wrote in choreopoems, dramatic poems. b. intransitive. In sense 15a with complements of other kinds or without complement; spec. to be an author or writer. ΘΚΠ society > communication > writing > [verb (intransitive)] > write as occupation writec1275 scribe1651 scriven1680 clerk1822 society > communication > writing > writer > [verb (intransitive)] > follow or practice writing as profession writec1275 society > leisure > the arts > literature > art or occupation of writer or author > follow occupation of writer [verb (intransitive)] writec1275 to trail a pen1680 to sling ink1870 c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 21 Þa makede a Frenchis clerc Wace wes ihoten þe wel couþe writen. a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 17846 Sundri þai þam fra oþer saite, And aiþer be him-seluen wrate. c1475 (c1445) R. Pecock Donet (1921) 6 (MED) It is honest ynouȝ a man to speke and write aftir oon of þo opyniouns. 1526 W. Bonde Pylgrimage of Perfection Pref. sig. Aii Ther vpon I begon after my pore maner to write in latine. 1575 G. Gascoigne Glasse of Gouernem. iii. ii. sig. Fii^v To conceiue that he spake or wrot like olde Duns or Scotus. 1610 Bible (Douay) II. Ecclus. xxxviii. comm. S. Paul not only preached, but also writte. 1639 R.Lovelace in G. A. Pallas Armata To Rdr. sig. A7 He fights now with her Penne And shee writes with his Sword. 1689 M. Prior Epist. to F. Shephard 38 He writes well, who writes with Ease. 1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. iii. 332 Halifax.., from whom Dryden was not ashamed to own that he had learned to write. 1890 Hardwicke's Sci.-gossip 26 177/1 I am not writing in the dark. 1952 Times Lit. Suppl. 21 Nov. 764/4 Born to write, he struggled on to finish his last novel even when he had become physically unable to use his pen. 2007 Church Times 14 Sept. 23/2 Fox writes well, with engaging candour, and manages to be funny without any Christian cringe factor. 2019 D. Young What doesn't kill you makes you Blacker ix. 173 I'd only decided to write for a living because I got laid off and couldn't do shit else. c. transitive. To have or use (a particular style of writing).More normally expressed with the intransitive verb followed by a prepositional phrase introduced by in: see sense 15a(b). ΚΠ c1484 (a1475) J. de Caritate tr. Secreta Secret. (Takamiya) (1977) 121 (MED) Of þe makyng of medycynes, me semyth best to wryte hem after þe gyse and maner þat þe physycyens wryght qwan þei make ther byllis to send to potecaryis. 1548 Philogamus sig. A.v^v He wrote so hygh a style As none wythin a myle Coulde fashyon wyth a fyle Wyth al hys wyt and wyle. 1698 T. Rymer Ess. Crit. & Curious Learning 11 He no sooner says, that I write a better Style than the Doctor, but you may perceive he immediately recollects himself. 1785 J.S. in R. Fergusson Poems 220 You write sic easy stile and plain..Nae southern loun dare you disdain. 1822 W. Hazlitt Table-talk II. viii. 185 It is not easy to write a familiar style. 1908 Living Church 7 Mar. 640/2 In the endeavor to write a ‘popular’ style the author has allowed himself to descend to altogether undue depths. 2011 S. Wade Straightforward Guide to Creative Writing (ed. 2) 146 Never be pompous. Write an accessible style. d. intransitive. Of an author: to make one's literary style more or less elevated in order to suit one's subject matter or address a particular audience. Now only in to write down 4 at Phrasal verbs, to write up 4 at Phrasal verbs. ΚΠ 1602 N. Breton Soules Harmony sig. B6^v Oh bring my hand one blessed Pen, To write beyond the reach of men. 1609 W. Shakespeare Sonnets lxxxvi. sig. F2^v By spirits taught to write, Aboue a mortall pitch. View more context for this quotation 1672 A. Marvell Rehearsal Transpros'd i. 114 The fault is most his own who should have writ to the capacity of vulgar Readers. e. transitive. To bring (a person, etc.) to a particular state or condition by what one writes. Chiefly reflexive.Usually with prepositional phrase (typically introduced by into or out of) e.g. I appear to have written myself into a corner; also occasionally with adjective complement (see, e.g., quot. 1734). ΘΚΠ society > communication > writing > [verb (transitive)] > reduce to specific state by writing write1642 1642 Remonstr. Londons Occurr. sig. A4 There's no harme in all this, were it not a mad thing for a man to burne his lippes with supping hot pottage, to talke or write himselfe into prison. 1734 A. Pope Epist. to Arbuthnot 32 A dire Dilemma! either way I'm sped, If Foes, they write, if Friends, they read me dead. 1736 Gentleman's Mag. Nov. 662 The Craftsman hath seen better Days; but he has wrote himself into Contempt. 1751 W. Warburton in Wks. of Alexander Pope IV. 159 (note) That no man was ever written out of reputation, but by himself. 1841 W. M. Thackeray Great Hoggarty Diamond xi You have..written yourself out of five hundred a-year. 1852 B. Thorpe Northern Mythol. III. 15 Another, whose cabbages were constantly stolen from his garden, wrote the thief fast from Saturday night till Sunday. 1871 E. Bulwer-Lytton Coming Race xvii If we wrote our fingers to the bone, we could not throw any light [etc.]. 1990 R. Malan My Traitor's Heart (1991) ii. 284 Ah, God, how did I write myself into that corner? f. transitive. To work (one's way) to a favourable situation or outcome through one's writing or literary endeavours. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > the arts > literature > art or occupation of writer or author > make one's way by writing [verb (reflexive)] write1735 1735 S. Rudd Let. Ministers of Calvinistical Baptist Persuasion 38 What steps he afterwards took in making the world a judge of the controversy, were no more than what he was obliged to in his own defense, there being no other expedient left him, by which he might vindicate himself, than that of writing his way thro'. 1890 T. F. Tout in F. Y. Powell et al. Hist. Eng. III. 111 Addison wrote his way with his Whig pamphlets to a secretaryship of state. 1936 Times 17 July 19/2 She..by sheer resolution, combined with Irish wit and shrewdness, wrote her way to success. 2020 G. Avilez Black Queer Freedom (e-book ed.) Through the letter, Joss writes his way to a personal freedom. 16. a. transitive. To produce or draw up (a legal or other formal document, e.g. a will, a receipt, a prescription). Also in extended use. ΘΚΠ society > communication > writing > manner of writing > [verb (transitive)] > draw up document writeOE makec1300 drawc1390 to make upa1425 to make out1465 prepare1562 to draw up1623 scriven1742 to draw out1773 redact1837 OE West Saxon Gospels: John (Corpus Cambr.) xix. 19 Witodlice Pilatus wrat ofergewrit & sette ofer his rode. OE Royal Charter: William I to Archbishops, Bishops, & Others, supporting Rights of Abbot Baldwin in D. C. Douglas Feudal Documents Abbey Bury St. Edmunds (1932) 53 Ic Willelm..bebead þis gewrit to writene & gewritan ic hic gemearcode to trymmunge mid tacne drihtenlican rode. a1333 in C. Brown Relig. Lyrics 14th Cent. (1924) 19 And helpe he wole ich wot, Vor loue þe chartre wrot, Þe enke orn of hys wounde. 1455–6 Rolls of Parl.: Henry VI (Electronic ed.) Parl. July 1455 §53. m. 3 The said officers woll write newe distressez ayenst your commissioners. 1542 N. Udall tr. Erasmus Apophthegmes (1877) ii. 251 An instrumente writen in greate letters of texte hande. 1659 W. Chamberlayne Pharonnida iii. i. sig. N2 Where Loves fair hand hath Valours pasport wright. 1722 Applebee's Original Weekly Jrnl. 17 Feb. 2298/1 According to a Receipt written by his own Hand. 1751 T. Smollett Peregrine Pickle I. vii. 50 A lawyer..to write her last will. 1833 Aberdeen Jrnl. 3 July Physicians should in future be obliged to write their prescriptions in English. 1889 J. Ruskin Præterita III. iv. 159 Mozart's birth wrote the laws of melody for all the world..irrevocably. 1981 M. C. Gerald Pharmacol. (ed. 2) xvi. 344 In 1977, 54 million prescriptions were written for diazepam. 2014 Scottish Daily Mail 17 May 21/3 She recently revealed that she has already written her will, which would see her wealth passed to her three children in stages. b. intransitive. To work drawing up documents, keeping records or accounts, acting as a scribe or copyist, etc.; to work as a writer (writer n. 2). Cf. writing n. Now rare. ΘΚΠ society > law > legal profession > practice law [verb (intransitive)] > act as writer to signet writec1475 c1475 Antichrist & Disciples in J. H. Todd Three Treat. J. Wycklyffe (1851) p. cxxxviii To write to þe kynges seel & hold seculer courtes to byȝe & to selle. 1759 T. Gray Let. 24 July in London Rev. Eng. & Foreign Lit. (1775) App. 489 We were, first, a man that writes for Lord Royston; 2dly, a man that writes for Dr. Burton, of York; [etc.]. 1853 C. Dickens Bleak House xx. 198 You might live through it on much worse terms than by writing for Snagsby. 1895 Southeastern Reporter 22 548/2 I am writing for Mr. William J. O'Dell, acting as principal. I have been writing for him about two years. 1942 Louisville & Nashville Employes' Mag. Mar. 56/1 Changes ‘for the duration’ find Lewis Hinton across the hall as secretary to Mr. Tilford and Larry Russ writing for Mr. Quinn. c. transitive. To fill in (a cheque). Now also allusively with reference to the funding of the activities of a person, institution, etc., without the strict implication of cheques being used. ΚΠ 1818 Morning Chron. 31 Dec. He wrote a cheque on his Banker for (we believe) two thousand pounds. 1837 C. Dickens Pickwick Papers lii. 570 Perker wrote a cheque for the whole amount. 1938 M. Muggeridge In Valley ix. 62 I wrote a cheque for twenty Swiss francs. 1980 M. Shoard Theft of Countryside iii. x. 113 While the cost of this approach is of course even more fearsome at first glance than those of management agreements, at least it does not involve local authorities in writing blank cheques. 2006 Independent 26 July (Extra section) 6/1 Writing cheques for a whole term of karate so you can go the once and then say you don't like it. 2017 Daily Mirror (Ireland ed.) (Nexis) 23 Oct. 10 They [sc. the bankers] have been running rings around the Government since we wrote them a €64billion cheque to cover their arses when the economy imploded. d. intransitive. U.S. Of a doctor: to make out or issue a prescription. Often in drug users' slang with reference to a doctor willing to issue prescriptions to addicts.Frequently followed by a prepositional phrase introduced by for, indicating the drug prescribed. ΚΠ 1862 Bull. N.Y. Acad. Medicine 1 121 He should write for two grains of sulphate of morphia. 1900 Med. Rec. (N.Y.) 9 June 1023/1 The drug stores might each have a doctor, who would write for any drug desired! 1953 W. S. Burroughs Junkie ii. 25 Roy located an Italian doctor out in the Bronx who would write. 1978 H. Selby Requiem for Dream 49 He still writes for tranks and downers. 2004 D. B. Worthen Pharmacy in World War II vi. 133 The physician wrote for atropine sulfate hypodermic tablets, dissolved and given in drops. e. transitive. To insert (a provision or clause) into a law, agreement, policy, etc. Cf. to write in 2a at Phrasal verbs. ΘΚΠ the mind > language > speech > agreement > make an agreement with [verb (transitive)] > stipulate stipulate1645 condition1675 write1869 1869 Rep. Supreme Court Mass. 97 391 It is perhaps needless to add that verbal representations can never be converted into warranties otherwise than by being afterwards written into the policy. 1962 Listener 25 Jan. 155/1 All sorts of safeguards have been written into the agreements. 1962 Rep. Comm. Broadcasting 1960 138 in Parl. Papers 1961–2 (Cmnd. 1753) X. 259 A suitable form of words to this effect should be written into the new Charter. 2010 Independent 17 Apr. 36/2 The gnarly hero of the small government movement here and author of Tabor—the taxpayer's bill of rights that was written into law in Colorado and many of its municipalities more than a decade ago. 17. a. transitive. To compose and send (a letter or similar communication) to someone; to communicate with a person by (letter, email, etc.). Frequently with the recipient indicated as an indirect object or in a prepositional phrase introduced by to (also †unto, †till); cf. sense 17b. ΘΚΠ society > communication > correspondence > letter-writing > write (a letter) [verb (transitive)] writeOE aditec1330 indite1340 OE tr. Alexander's Let. to Aristotle (1995) §1. 224 Her is seo gesengenis [read gesetenis] Alexandres epistoles.., þone he wrat & sende to Aristotile. c1380 Sir Ferumbras (1879) l. 1782 Þe lettre þat ys til hym wryte. c1440 Prose Life Alexander (Thornton) (1913) 66 He garte writte anoþer lettre, and sent it to Talyfride. 1538 E. Foxe in N. Pocock Rec. Reformation I. 141 I wrote two letters unto you..ascertaining you of my arrival and other occurrents there. c1560 A. Scott Poems (S.T.S.) ix. 17 It is þe hairt to quhome ȝe wret The misseif. 1613 J. Saris Jrnl. in Voy. Japan (1900) 94 This daye Mr. Cocks writt me a letter. 1710 R. Steele Tatler No. 4. ⁋2 Another hath just now writ three Lines to Clarissa. 1802 M. Moore Lascelles II. 126 The young man..writ her a polite note. 1848 W. M. Thackeray Vanity Fair xlix. 434 I want you..to write a card for Colonel and Mrs. Crawley. 1927 V. Woolf Let. 31 Jan. in Lett. to V. Woolf (1984) 148 It was nice to get your telegram and letters—write as many as you can. It gives one a fillip. 2010 Independent 8 Dec. (Life section) 5/2 We write emails as casually as we make a phone call—but we read them with the seriousness with which we take a letter. 2018 L. Wright God save Texas viii. 226 Mayor Herbst had written a letter to her constituents to tell them that she was taking hormone therapy and transitioning to female. b. To compose and send a letter or similar communication to someone; to send a written message.Frequently with infinitive as complement, expressing the purpose of the correspondence, e.g. She wrote to ask how I was. (a) intransitive. With the recipient indicated in a prepositional phrase introduced by to, (or, now rarely, unto, till); cf. sense 17a. ΘΚΠ society > communication > correspondence > letter-writing > write a letter [verb (intransitive)] writeOE epistolize1650 to write in1834 letter1861 OE tr. Alexander's Let. to Aristotle (1995) §2. 224 Þa geþohte ic for þon to þe to writanne be þæm þeodlonde Indie. c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Royal) (1850) Jude i. 3 Makinge al bisynesse of writinge to ȝou of ȝoure comoun helthe. 1488 (c1478) Hary Actis & Deidis Schir William Wallace (Adv.) (1968–9) xii. l. 945 Than Eduuard wrayt till Menteth prewali. 1534 T. Cromwell Let. in R. B. Merriman Life & Lett. Cromwell (1902) I. 394 Wherefore..I..am bold to wryght vnto you. 1648 T. Gage Eng.-Amer. 163 I writ unto my friends. 1663 King Charles II in J. M. Cartwright Madame (1894) 136 I writt to you yesterday. 1751 E. Haywood Hist. Betsy Thoughtless IV. xvi. 191 The abbess was wrote to concerning me. 1814 Duke of Wellington Dispatches (1838) XII. 7 Write to me to General Colville's quarters. 1888 ‘J. S. Winter’ Bootle's Children viii. 57 Ferrers wrote to a friend of his at Chertsey. 1926 E. Wharton Let. 11 Aug. (1988) 491 Your dear letter came just after I had written to you. 2016 N.Y. Times (National ed.) 14 Feb. (Business section) 8/6 I read every letter from customers, and when they're good, I write to the employees mentioned and include the letter. (b) intransitive. Without the recipient specified. Also with plural subject: to conduct a correspondence by letter or similar communication. ΚΠ c1405 (c1390) G. Chaucer Man of Law's Tale (Hengwrt) (1871) l. 759 Wo was this kyng whan he this lettre hadde seyn..But of his owene hond he wroot ageyn. c1450 (c1350) Alexander & Dindimus (Bodl.) (1929) l. 244 Whan dereworþe Dindimus þe enditinge hurde Of Alixandre askinge as he write hadde. 1552 in A. Feuillerat Documents Office of Revels Edward VI (1914) 89 Sir wheras you required me to write, for that [etc.]. 1626 R. Montagu Let. 11 Sept. in Corr. J. Cosin (1869) I. 104 I haue no[t] much newes, nor occasion to write. 1692 H. Prideaux Lett. (1875) 158 I have expressly wrot to be informed of it. 1719 D. Defoe Life Robinson Crusoe 41 Goods, such as the Captain had writ for. 1751 S. Johnson Rambler No. 171. ⁋6 I applied to him by letter, but had no answer. I writ in terms more pressing. 1842 in J. Bischoff Comprehensive Hist. Woollen Manuf. II. 318 He wrote to request my aid. 1887 Doidge's Western Counties Illustr. Ann. for 1887 143 At the time our story opens they wrote regularly and often paid each other long visits. 1890 R. C. Lehmann Harry Fludyer 31 Tell Mary she hasn't written for an age. 1993 Event Summer 58 The letter carrier would come soon. If there was nothing from Karl, she would have to wait till Monday. Why don't you write? 2012 Green Parent Apr. 47/1 We had briefly visited Brithdir Mawr..and subsequently wrote to ask if we could bring our turnout and animals to stay as long-term volunteers. c. transitive. To compose and send a letter to (someone). Now chiefly North American.In early use with the recipient as an indirect object (in Old English dative object). By the late 18th cent. apparently typically analysed as a direct object, and in Britain viewed as colloquial, or associated with the usage of business and commercial circles. Now viewed as nonstandard in British English and similar varieties, but in standard use in North America. ΚΠ OE West Saxon Gospels: Luke (Corpus Cambr.) i. 3 Me geþuhte geornlice eallum oð endebyrdnesse writan þe, þu se selusta Theophilus, þæt ðu oncnawe þara worda soþfæstnesse of ðam ðe þu gelæred eart. a1413 (c1385) G. Chaucer Troilus & Criseyde (Pierpont Morgan) (1882) v. l. 1303 Thow hast not wreten here [c1430 Cambr. Gg.4.27 wrete to hyre] syn þat she wente... Now write here þanne [c1430 Cambr. Gg.4.27 write to hire]. c1450 C. d'Orleans Poems (1941) 125 (MED) I sory am thus forto write yow here, Forwhi to say hit were me more plesere Bi mouth then make this ocupacioun. 1611 J. Ussher Let. 4 Oct. in R. Parr Life J. Usher (1686) Coll. vii. 15 Together with..Mr. Cook's Books you wrote me of. 1672 in Camden Soc. Misc. (1881) 13 Being in hast, have not tyme to wright any body else. 1763 E. Carter in Mem. (1808) I. 356 I writ you from Amsterdam. 1795 Ld. Nelson in Dispatches & Lett. (1845) II. 32 As I write you,..I shall not write Mrs. Nelson this day. 1854 W. M. Thackeray Newcomes I. xxxi. 310 Clive..wrote me about the transmogrification of our schoolfellow. 1864 J. H. Newman Apologia vi. 346 When friends wrote me on the subject, I either did not deny or I confessed it. 1891 Harper's Mag. Nov. 840/1 Mr. Adams was another character of whom my host had written me. 1922 C. Mackenzie Altar Steps xxiii. 263 I will write you again when I have seen Father Burrowes. 1955 J. P. Donleavy Ginger Man xi. 104 I haven't. You can't blame me. I'm sorry I wrote your father. I'm sorry for it. 1973 Black Panther 17 Nov. 10/2 It is circulating an impeachment petition nationwide while encouraging all citizens to write their congressmen. 2017 New Yorker 27 Feb. 49/3 ‘My sched is so tight, literally from sunrise to well past sunset,’ Flynn wrote me, in a text message. †18. transitive. To translate (a text) from one language into another. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > intelligibility > meaning > explanation, exposition > translation > translate [verb (transitive)] setc888 wendeOE turnc1175 writec1275 drawa1325 translatea1375 expound1377 takea1382 interpret1382 transpose1390 remue?a1400 renderc1400 put?a1425 to draw outa1450 reducec1450 compile1483 redige?1517 make1529 traducea1533 traduct1534 converta1538 do1561 to set out1597 transcribe1639 throw1652 metaphrase1868 versionize1874 c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 3149 Alfred..wrat þa laȝen on Englis. a1413 (c1385) G. Chaucer Troilus & Criseyde (Pierpont Morgan) (1881) ii. l. 14 Of no sentement I þis endite, But out of latyn in my tunge it write. c1475 Babees Bk. (Harl. 5086) (2002) i. 1 This tretys the whiche I thenke to wryte Out of latyn in-to my comvne langage. 19. transitive. To be able to produce coherent written text in (a particular language); to be a competent user of the written form of (a language).Sometimes used in contrast to being able to speak a language or read text written in it; cf. read v. 5b, speak v. 13. ΘΚΠ society > communication > writing > [verb (transitive)] > employ specific language in writing writec1390 c1390 Castle of Love (Vernon) (1967) l. 24 Ne mowe we alle Latin wite, Ne Ebreu ne Gru þat beþ iwrite. c1475 in J. P. Genet Four Eng. Polit. Tracts (1977) 205 (MED) Good maisters..that shulde..teche theyme well to reede and write frenshe, latyn and othir langage. 1521 A. Barclay (title) Here begynneth the introductory to wryte, and to pronounce frenche. 1582 R. Mulcaster 1st Pt. Elementarie xi. 53 Such peple, as teach childern to read and write English. 1664 J. Dryden Rival Ladies Ded. sig. A3^v I have endeavour'd to write English, as near [etc.]. 1757 tr. J. G. Keyssler Trav. IV. 28 Charles VI..speaks and writes Latin, Italian, Spanish and French. 1845 M. Pattison in Christian Remembrancer Jan. 74 The Latin which Gregory writes is..his native tongue. 1959 V. Cronin Pearl to India vi. 86 Grantham was not, as Europeans thought, a name for Sanskrit, but merely the angular script evolved by the Tamils to write Sanskrit. 2014 Marvels & Tales 28 311 In the early seventeenth century parents themselves seemed to want their children to learn to read and write Arabic and Italian and to a lesser extent French. 20. In extended use with reference to non-linguistic works created using other formal systems of representation and notation. a. To compose (music); to set down (a musical work) in notation. (a) transitive. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > the arts > music > written or printed music > notation > notate [verb (transitive)] prickc1390 write?a1505 notate1871 a1505 R. Henryson Orpheus & Eurydice 240 in Poems (1981) 140 Off sik musik to wryte I do bot dote, Thar-for at this mater a stra I lay. 1672 T. Salmon Ess. Advancem. Musick Contents sig. A6^v One who can Sing a Treble part, can immediately Sing that which is written for the Base. 1782 C. Burney Gen. Hist. Music II. 566 Such keys as these pieces are written in. 1885 Dict. National Biogr. II. 105 [Arne] wrote new music for Addison's opera ‘Rosamond’. 1941 C. Porter Let's not talk about Love in Compl. Lyrics (1983) 217 Let's write a tune that's playable, a ditty swing-and-swayable. 1977 Listener 26 May 692/1 The vocal line is written in the customary recitativo secco style. 2015 Telegraph-Jrnl. (New Brunswick) (Nexis) 3 Sept. c1 He wrote the jazz standard ‘Bluesette’, which he originally played on the guitar while whistling the melody an octave higher. (b) intransitive. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > the arts > music > composing music > compose music [verb (intransitive)] write1672 1672 M. Locke Observ. Ess. Advancem. Mus. 14 Our certain Method of the Scale; which never gives..occasion for..writing in improper Keys. 1789 C. Burney Gen. Hist. Music III. 109 Tallis and Bird had..long accustomed themselves to write for voices. 1886 Musical Times Dec. 712/1 If I write for orchestra in B flat, the brass band will play in C. 1967 Financial Times 21 Mar. 30/1 Two preceding works in which Berg wrote for orchestra for the first time. 2004 P. Taylor Listening Tests for Students 6 There are the same two types of question, but here you may have to show your ability to write in staff notation. b. transitive. Computing. To compose the code of (a computer program); to compose (computer code). ΚΠ 1948 W. J. Eckert in B. Randell Origins Digital Computers (1973) v. 219/1 The calculator reads ‘written’ instructions for performing the most complex calculations.] 1951 Summary Papers Seminar Data Handling & Automatic Computing (Office of Naval Research, U.S. Dept. of Navy) 76 In order to write such a procedure the programmer must learn the logic of the computer. 1999 Personal Computer World July 158/1 As free software written by enthusiasts, Linux returns Unix to its..origins. 2016 M. Sample in H. Lowood & R. Guins Debugging Game Hist. vii. 53 Programmers write code; machines enact it. 21. In technical use in business and finance. a. transitive. To accept (a liability or risk) under the terms of an insurance policy; to underwrite (an insurance policy). Cf. underwrite v.¹ 2b. ΘΚΠ society > trade and finance > financial dealings > insurance > insure [verb (transitive)] > insurance policy operations underwrite1622 adjust1720 load1867 sub-underwrite1895 claim1897 twist1906 insure1911 write1931 1823 Morning Chron. 18 Dec. I asked that underwriter about it, who said they were his initials, but he did not write the risk, and advised me not to do it. 1931 Times 14 Mar. 12/6 Not all insurance companies have felt justified in writing the risks. 1967 Listener 6 July 14/3 The company was still writing insurance in eleven American states. 2006 Business Insurance (Nexis) 9 Jan. 20 Certain industries, though, fall into hazard classes for which not as many carriers are willing to write the risks. b. transitive. Originally U.S. Business (now chiefly Stock Market). To make (an option) available for purchase by creating a contract; to enter into (an option contract) with a buyer; to sell (an option). ΘΚΠ society > trade and finance > stocks and shares > deal in stocks and shares [verb (transitive)] > specific operations subscribe1618 to take up1655 to sell out1721 to take in1721 to take up1740 pool?1780 capitalize1797 put1814 feed1818 to vote (the) stock (or shares)1819 corner1836 to sell short1852 promote1853 recapitalize1856 refund1857 float1865 water1865 margin1870 unload1870 acquire1877 maintain1881 syndicate1882 scalp1886 pyramid1888 underwrite1889 oversubscribe1891 joint-stock1894 wash1895 write1908 mark1911 split1927 marry1931 stag1935 unwind1958 short1959 preplace1966 unitize1970 bed and breakfast1974 index-link1974 warehouse1977 daisy-chain1979 strip1981 greenmail1984 pull1986 1908 Bee (Earlington, Kentucky) 18 June For the past two weeks agents have been writing options on this land wherever the chance is offered. 1934 B. Winfield Put & Call Trading Guide i. 1 The difference between the market at the time the option is written and the price at which the writer agrees to buy or sell stock at a later date. 1959 H. Filer Understanding Put & Call Options 119 The amount received for writing the option (premium) constitutes an offset against the amount paid in determining the net cost basis of the security purchased. 1989 European Investor Feb. 70/1 The market maker who wrote you the option could have sold the shares on your behalf and paid you the difference. 2003 D. L. Scott Wall St. Words 282 For example, an investor holding shares of BP can earn premium income by writing covered call options that give the buyer of the calls the right to purchase the option writer's BP shares at a fixed price until a stated date. 22. †a. intransitive. To form a good (bad, etc.) subject for writing. With complement specifying the particular quality. Cf. paint v.¹ 1g. Obsolete. rare. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > the arts > literature > art or occupation of writer or author > follow occupation of writer [verb (intransitive)] > be described in writing write1827 1827 Lady Morgan Diary 23 Nov. in Memoirs (1862) II. xvii. 247 The comfortless, unaccommodating reality of those times which paint and write so well. b. intransitive. With the written text as subject: to be written; to have a specified written form; (also) to have a specified character or quality; to produce a certain impression when read (cf. read v. 22b). rare. ΘΚΠ society > communication > writing > state of having been written > be written [verb (intransitive)] appearc1531 come1582 to go down1734 write1862 1862 O. Cockayne Seinte Marherete p. v The manuscripts..write straight away from end to end of the ruled lines. 2010 Toronto Star (Nexis) 6 Apr. 1 [He] asked the panel not to allow the victim-impact statement, saying ‘it writes like hysteria.’ 2020 @MistressofPun 5 Sept. in twitter.com (accessed 16 Mar. 2021) So much online banking, I forgot what my signature writes like. 23. transitive. Originally South African. To take (a written examination).Common in African, Canadian, Caribbean, and South Asian English. Not in standard use in United States, British, Irish, Australian, and New Zealand English. ΘΚΠ society > education > educational administration > examination > examine a candidate [verb (transitive)] > take examination to go in1845 sit1859 write1943 1943 ‘J. Burger’ Black Man's Burden 173 The examinations at Fort Hare are the same as those written by European students in the other constituent colleges of the University. 1971 Sunday Express (Johannesburg) 28 Mar. (Home Jrnl.) 14/2 My daughter is writing Matric this year. 1974 Advocate-News (Barbados) 19 Feb. 1/1 Students from Government primary schools will now write the Common Entrance Examination at their respective schools. 2021 Times of India (Nexis) 26 Mar. Barring 40 final year students who are writing their exams, all others were asked to vacate the campus. IV. To state, communicate, or describe (something) in writing, and related senses. 24. a. To state, relate, or assert (something) in writing; to set down an account or record of (facts, circumstances, events, etc.). (a) transitive. With clause introduced by that, what, how, etc., or with words directly quoted, as object. ΘΚΠ the mind > language > statement > state or declare [verb (transitive)] > in writing writeeOE speak?c1225 society > communication > record > written record > record in writing [verb (transitive)] writeeOE awriteeOE markOE titlea1325 record1340 registera1393 accordc1450 chronicle1460 to write upa1475 calendar1487 enrol1530 prickc1540 scripture1540 to set down1562 report1600 reservea1616 tabulatea1646 to take down1651 actuate1658 to commit to writing (also paper)1695 to mark down1881 slate1883 eOE (Kentish) Will of Abba (Sawyer 1482) in N. P. Brooks & S. E. Kelly Charters of Christ Church Canterbury, Pt. 2 (2013) 663 Ic Abba geroefa cyðe & writan hate hu min willa is þæt mon ymb min ærfe gedoe. OE tr. Bede Eccl. Hist. (Cambr. Univ. Libr.) i. viii. 42 Writeð Eutropius þæt Constantinus se casere wære on Breotone acenned. ?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 36 Leteð writen on an scrouwe hwet se ȝe ne cunnen. a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) Prol. l. 41 If noman write hou that it stode, The pris of hem that weren goode Scholde..Be lost. 1576 T. Hill Moste Pleasaunte Arte Interpretacion of Dreames (new ed.) sig. I.i Others write that hee died of a greate anger whiche he toke agaynst a Burgeys of that Cittye. 1615 G. Sandys Relation of Journey 218 Some write that Cyprus was so named..of Cyrus. 1686 Let. 22 May in J. Grant Seafield Corr. 1685–1708 (1912) 25 They write that..their fleet sailed from the Texel. 1729 tr. P. Gilles Antiquities of Constantinople 13 Suetonius..writes, that the City was divided into Streets and Wards. 1847 W. M. Thackeray Vanity Fair (1848) xxiv. 207 ‘I shall expect you at half-past five,’ Captain Dobbin wrote. 1850 Ld. Tennyson In Memoriam vi. 6 One writes, that ‘Other friends remain’. View more context for this quotation 1959 F. Sondern Brotherhood of Evil vii. 102 Various reporters have written that this tradition has long since been wiped out. 2018 St. Louis (Missouri) Post-Dispatch (Nexis) 28 Dec. a1 In a Facebook post..her mother wrote that her ‘baby girl gained her wings and is now an angel’. (b) transitive. With pronoun, noun, or noun phrase as object. ΚΠ OE tr. Bede Eccl. Hist. (Cambr. Univ. Libr.) Pref. ii. 4 Þæt ic be ðam halgan fæder Cuðbyrhte wrat oððe on þysse bec oððe on oðre, þa dæda his lifes. lOE Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Laud) anno 1086 Fela þinga we magon writan þe on ðam ilcan geare gewordene wæron. c1275 (?c1250) Owl & Nightingale (Calig.) (1935) l. 1756 Þar he demeþ manie riȝht dom An diht & writ [a1300 Jesus Oxf. wryt] mani wisdom. c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) l. 6793 As it is of hire iwrite, & of ire holi fame. a1400 (c1303) R. Mannyng Handlyng Synne (Harl.) l. 8970 Þere..Þey dede to wryte yn boke þys chaunce. 1559 R. Sadler & J. Croft Let. 24 Oct. in T. Wright Queen Elizabeth & her Times (1838) I. 17 We woll not write it for gospell that their power is so greate. 1568 T. Hacket tr. A. Thevet New Found Worlde xxvii. f. 35^v There resteth nowe to wright that, the which we haue learned. 1643 K. Digby Observ. Religio Medici 44 To peruse what I have written at full upon this point. 1671 J. Webster Metallographia i. 12 The Collegium Conimbricense are perswaded that he writ the truth. a1715 Bp. G. Burnet Hist. Own Time (1724) I. 14 Whose life is so curiously writ by Thomas Hubert. 1794 J. H. Moore New Pract. Navigator (ed. 10) 169 Occurrences which are written on the log-board. 1897 Cassell's Mag. 14 382/1 Some of those men, the war correspondents, did write a lot of rubbish about our good spirits. 1948 R. Chandler Let. 7 May in Sel. Lett. (1987) 113 A critic who could write that drivel about O'Neill's drivel is hors concours. 2008 D. Ebershoff 19th Wife (2009) 363 You say in your letter the historian writes the truth. Forgive me, I must disagree. b. transitive. To communicate (information, greetings, etc.) by letter; to send (a message) in writing. Typically with the recipient specified as an indirect object, or in a prepositional phrase introduced by to, unto.Frequently with the information or message expressed in a clause introduced by that, what, how, etc., used either as object (e.g. quot. 1875) or as a complement of word (e.g. quot. 1662).In quot. ?c1225 in figurative context. ΘΚΠ society > communication > correspondence > letter-writing > write (a letter) [verb (transitive)] > write (something) in a letter writeOE epistle1596 OE tr. Alexander's Let. to Aristotle (1995) §5. 226 Ic nu þas þing write to þe gemænelice & to Olimphiade minre meder. ?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 284 He..wrot wið hisachne blod. Saluz to his leofmon. a1300 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Caius) 38 Seint eilred wrat to his suster þat an is pinsunge iflesh..wid disciplines..þe oþer is heorte þeawes. a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 17843 We sal yow write..All þat we herd and sagh. 1415 in 43rd Ann. Rep. Deputy Keeper Public Rec. (1882) App. i. 588 in Parl. Papers (C. 3425) XXXVI. 1 I hafe wretyn to zowe al yat I knaw. c1440 (?a1400) Morte Arthure l. 3904 (MED) In a mette-while a messangere he sendes, And wraite vnto Waynor how the werlde chaungede. c1450 (c1350) Alexander & Dindimus (Bodl.) (1929) l. 24 (MED) Þe gentil Genosophistiens..To þe Emperour Alixandre here answerus wreten. ?1472 E. Paston in Paston Lett. & Papers (2004) I. 635 I wrythe to ȝow the very cause why. 1561 T. Hoby tr. B. Castiglione Courtyer ii. sig. S.iiii^v He wrott vnto the Duke,..he would..put a medicin vpon his gunnstones. 1598 W. Shakespeare Henry IV, Pt. 1 iv. i. 31 He writes me here that [etc.] . View more context for this quotation 1616 R. Cocks Diary 8 July (1883) I. 150 They wrot me how the Portingals had 4 gallions. 1662 E. Stillingfleet Origines Sacræ i. iv. §11 Alexander..writ word to his Mother he had found out [etc.]. a1706 J. Evelyn Life Mrs. Godolphin (1939) 52 She writes me..what Conflicts she had indur'd. 1769 H. Brooke Fool of Quality IV. xvii. 32 Your brother writ me an account of your fatal falling away. 1833 J. H. Newman Lett. & Corr. (1891) I. 434 I had..written to Rose how we had best start agitating. 1850 D. M. Mulock Olive xxv You will..write me word how it looks. 1875 B. Meadows Clin. Observ. 69 [She] writes me that she is very much better. 1957 A. MacLeish Let. 9 July (1983) 400 We have heard: his Secy writes that he is out of town but implies that he will be back before our date. 2014 Vanity Fair Dec. 191/2 ‘I think he adds to the gaiety of nations,’ Paxman wrote to me in an e-mail. c. transitive. figurative and in figurative contexts, with reference to some fact, narrative, state of affairs, etc., being indicated by or discernible in features of the visible world. Usually in passive. Cf. sense 9. Now rare.Typically with reference to the idea that nature is a book containing information or instructions about God's will; see book n. 6a and cf. esp. quots. 1574, 1605, and 1745. ΚΠ c1405 (c1390) G. Chaucer Man of Law's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 93 Perauenture in thilke large book Which þ^t men clepe the heuene, ywriten was With sterres..That he for loue sholde han his deth allas. 1587 Sir P. Sidney & A. Golding tr. P. de Mornay Trewnesse Christian Relig. v. 66 We haue read in nature that there is but one God, as a thing which we finde written euen in the least creatures. 1609 W. Shakespeare Sonnets xciii. sig. F4 The falce hearts history Is writ in moods and frounes and wrinckles strange. View more context for this quotation a1616 W. Shakespeare Antony & Cleopatra (1623) v. i. 22 That selfe-hand Which writ his Honor in the Acts it did. View more context for this quotation a1680 S. Charnock Several Disc. Existence of God (1682) 814 Those Testimonies of it [sc. God's patience], which were written in showers, and fruitful seasons. 1781 W. Cowper Expostulation 311 Is adverse providence, when ponder'd well, So dimly writ, or difficult to spell. 1869 E. A. Freeman Hist. Norman Conquest III. xiv. 355 The great tale of which it became the theatre is legibly written on its natural features. 1919 N. Amer. Rev. Nov. 680 The creed is written in the leaves of the trees. 1994 Sunday Tel. 3 July 19/7 God's message was written in nature and you had to learn to read it. 25. In particular constructions corresponding to the transitive uses in sense 24. a. intransitive. With so or thus as pro-forms in place of the reported words, information, or message. Cf. say v.¹ 3a(b). ΚΠ OE Ælfric Catholic Homilies: 2nd Ser. (Cambr. Gg.3.28) xviii. 175 Ðus wrat hieronimus, se wisa trahtnere be ðære halgan rode, hu heo wearð gefunden. a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 11467 For þe prophet had written sua, And said [etc.]. a1439 J. Lydgate Fall of Princes (Bodl. 263) ix. l. 1294 The kyng..With strong [emended in ed. to stronge] hond cam into Normandie..Gat the castel; took his brother oute; Emprisowned hym of verray force & myht; Lefft hym allone out of mennys siht Fourteene yeer, the cronicle writ so. 1594 Willobie his Auisa f. 57^v After a long & melancholike deliberation, he wrate againe so as followeth. 1605 W. Camden Remaines ii. 11 To one..he wrighteth thus. Discendi [etc.]. a1616 W. Shakespeare Coriolanus (1623) v. iii. 146 Whose Chronicle thus writ, The man was Noble. View more context for this quotation 1730 A. Gordon tr. F. S. Maffei Compl. Hist. Anc. Amphitheatres 95 Thus has one of those foul-mouth'd Poets wrote. 1770 D. Dalrymple in G. Bannatyne Anc. Sc. Poems 310 The Cardinal..writes thus to Cardinal Borromeo, 24th November 1561. 1874 J. A. Symonds Sketches Italy & Greece 121 While I am writing thus about the production..of these love-songs. 1901 W. B. Yeats Let. 10 Dec. (1994) III. 134 She..thought that he had refused it and wrote so to me. 1992 J. Burchill Sex & Sensibility p. xvii Mr Bennion wrote thus to the Guardian. b. intransitive. In parenthetic clauses introduced by as. Cf. say v.¹ 1b. ΚΠ 1489 (a1380) J. Barbour Bruce (Adv.) i. 525 Then slayn wes mony thowsand.., As Dares in his buk he wrate. a1538 T. Starkey Dial. Pole & Lupset (1989) 56 Thys hath destroyd more then any pestylens as lyvius wrytyth. 1696 Seafield's Corr. (1912) 176 For newes, as Sr. James wreits to your Lo[rdshi]pe, ther is non. 1736 F. Drake Eboracum ii. ii. 529 A fine piece of masonry [in York Minster] in form of a wheel, or as Mr. Torre writes a marygold, from whence it is called the marygold window. 1865 Sporting Rev. Aug. 130 Cricket and practical jokes seemed to have gone hand-in-hand together. As Horace writes: ‘Ludere qui nescit campestribus abstinet armis.’ 1982 J. Culler On Deconstruction (1983) ii. 185 If, as Derrida writes, ‘before being a rhetorical procedure within language, metaphor were thus the emergence of language itself’, then the critic cannot simply describe the functioning of figurative language within the text. 2017 Hedgehog Rev. Summer 93/1 Through ritual play, as Huizinga writes, ‘something invisible and inactual takes beautiful, actual, holy form.’ 26. a. transitive. To give a written description of (something); to describe or depict in writing. Now archaic and rare. ΘΚΠ society > communication > writing > [verb (transitive)] > describe in writing writeOE pena1527 pursue1558 thumbnail1932 OE Ælfric Homily (Corpus Cambr. 162) in J. C. Pope Homilies of Ælfric (1967) I. 327 Hys wundra næron awritene ealle, ac þa ane man wrat þe mihton genihtsumian mannum to hæle. a1225 (c1200) Vices & Virtues (1888) 19 Ne mai ic þenchen,..ne on boke write, alle ðo pinen of helle. a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) (1965) Ecclus. xlii. 7 Þe ȝyuen thing forsoþe & þe taken: al discriue or wrijt. c1449 R. Pecock Repressor (1860) 55 Putte God upon him the veniauncis writun in this book. 1572 W. Malim in tr. N. Martinengo True Rep. Famagosta Ded. sig. Aij^v Men being first enforced to write their actes and monumentes in beastes skinnes dryed, in barkes of trees, or otherwise perchaunce as vnreadily. 1609 W. Shakespeare Sonnets xvii. sig. B4^v If I could write the beauty of your eyes. 1636 E. Dacres tr. N. Machiavel Disc. Livy II. 545 Things which they have done, that lived in the manner above written. 1792 Select. Misc. Pieces 54 To write the Love of God above, Would drain the ocean dry. 2012 @MorroGee 14 Aug. in twitter.com (accessed 13 June 2021) If all the water of the oceans became ink, it will not be enough to write the Greatness of ALLAH!! b. transitive. To treat (something) as the subject for a written exposition or discussion; to expound on; (also) to take (something) as a topic, theme, etc., for literary work. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > the arts > literature > prose > non-fiction > treatise or dissertation > write treatise about or treat of [verb (transitive)] writeOE handleOE treatc1325 treatc1374 entreatc1425 treatise1506 tract1529 pertract1542 overharl1568 entracta1572 to speak to ——1610 OE West Saxon Gospels: John (Corpus Cambr.) i. 45 We gemetton ðone Hælend Iosepes sunu of Nazareth, þone wrat Moyses & þa witegan on ðære æ. a1300 (c1275) Physiologus (1991) l. 513 In boke is ðe turtres lif writen o rime. ?a1425 tr. Guy de Chauliac Grande Chirurgie (Hunterian) (1994) 17 (MED) Seþ þat þe anothomie of simpel members..be writen, nowe wille y write þe anothomie of singuler members þe whiche ben compounde. a1450 (a1338) R. Mannyng Chron. (Lamb.) (1887) l. 10412 (MED) More wirschip of hym [sc. Arthur] was Þan of any of þat spekes Gildas, Or of any þat Bede wrote. 1597 T. Morley Plaine & Easie Introd. Musicke 152 Those who haue of late daies written the art of musicke. 1713 H. Felton Diss. Reading Classics Contents sig. Aiv^v The Difficulties of writing History. 1737 A. Pope Epist. of Horace ii. i. 9 Ev'ry flow'ry Courtier writ Romance. 1821 Ld. Byron Diary 29 Jan. in Poet. Wks. (1846) 505/1 They talk Dante—write Dante—and think and dream Dante. 1921 G. S. Brett Hist. Psychol. II. iv. iv. 355 His acute remarks on the nature of religions have led some writers to describe him as the first to write the psychology of religion. 2003 Contemp. European Hist. 12 328 It is obviously always possible to write the history of Europe, as it is to write that of a single country. c. transitive. To give expression to (one's feelings, thoughts, etc.) through writing; to express in written form. ΚΠ a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(1)) (1850) Job xiii. 26 Thou writist aȝen me bitternessis. a1450 Lessons of Dirige (Digby) l. 146 in J. Kail 26 Polit. Poems (1904) 112 Lord..aȝens me þou doest wryte Bitternesse, bote swete is past. c1450 J. Capgrave Life St. Augustine (1910) 25 He took a peyre tables, and wroot in þe wax al his desir. 1524 Queen Margaret Let. in M. A. E. Wood Lett. Royal Ladies Great Brit. (1846) I. 319 I did write my mind plainly to you. 1653 I. Walton Compl. Angler i. 29 God..[allowed] those..to write his holy will in holy writ. View more context for this quotation 1748 S. Richardson Clarissa VI. xcix. 338 My heart is full, and I can't help writing my mind. 1798 Ld. Nelson in A. Duncan Life Nelson (1806) 96 Buonaparte writes his distress for stores. 1840 in D. G. Barrie & S. Broomhall Police Courts in 19th Cent. Scotl. I. iii. 213 I wrote my mind on a large sheet of paper. 1927 T. S. Eliot Elizabethan Ess. (1934) 50 The great poet, in writing himself, writes his time. 2013 Irish Times 30 Nov. (Weekend section) 12 Desmond's death released Penelope to a new life. She grieved, and she wrote her grief. 27. transitive. To ordain, decree; to prophesy. Usually in passive with dummy it as subject, e.g. It was written in the stars.In quot. 1484 intransitive in a parenthetic clause introduced by as (cf. sense 25). ΘΚΠ society > authority > command > command or bidding > command [verb (transitive)] > ordain, prescribe, or appoint asetc885 teachc897 deemc900 ashapea1000 i-demeOE setc1000 shiftc1000 stevenOE redeOE willOE lookc1175 showc1175 stablea1300 devise1303 terminea1325 shapec1330 stightlea1375 determinec1384 judgea1387 sign1389 assize1393 statute1397 commanda1400 decree1399 yarka1400 writec1405 decreetc1425 rule1447 stallc1460 constitute1481 assignc1485 institute1485 prescribec1487 constitue1489 destinate1490 to lay down1493 make?a1513 call1523 plant1529 allot1532 stint1533 determ1535 appointa1538 destinec1540 prescrive1552 lot1560 fore-appoint1561 nominate1564 to set down1576 refer1590 sort1592 doom1594 fit1600 dictate1606 determinate1636 inordera1641 state1647 fix1660 direct1816 the mind > mental capacity > expectation > foresight, foreknowledge > prediction, foretelling > inspired prophecy > prophesy [verb (transitive)] prophesy1372 betoken1382 prophetize?a1400 spaea1400 tella1400 writec1405 ossc1450 destiny?1549 fore-prophesy1581 forewarn1582 vaticinate1652 c1405 (c1385) G. Chaucer Knight's Tale (Hengwrt) (1868) l. 2350 Among the goddes hye it is affermed And by eterne word writen and confermed Thou shalt be wedded vn to oon of tho That han for thee so muche care and wo. 1484 W. Caxton tr. G. de la Tour-Landry Bk. Knight of Tower (1971) lxxvi. 107 It was done as the kynge had wreton. 1560 Bible (Geneva) 1 Esdras vi. 17 King Cyrus wrote that this House shulde be buylt vp. 1676 J. Dryden Aureng-Zebe i. 14 'Tis writ in Fate, I can be onely yours. 1843 G. Borrow Bible in Spain III. xvii. 364 ‘It was not so written,’ said Antonio, who..was a fatalist. 1902 ‘Roma White’ Backsheesh xvii. 280 That which is written is written. It is stronger than I. So let it be. 1997 R. Fortey Life x. 278 The new catastrophism, in which the fate of the Earth is once again written in the stars. 2009 W. Blackgrave Here, there, & back Again (e-book, accessed 13 June 2021) i. 3 The Arabs have a saying that what was written for our lives cannot be changed because it was written by God as soon as we have a soul. V. To call or style a person by a particular title in writing, and related senses. 28. With complement specifying the title or designation. a. transitive. To describe or designate (a person) in writing as a particular thing or as belonging to a specified class; to call, style, or term (someone). Now archaic. ΘΚΠ the mind > language > naming > give a name to [verb (transitive)] > call or give as name to > in writing writea1382 a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(1)) (1850) Jer. xxii. 30 Writ this man a bareyn man [L. scribe virum istum sterilem; 1611 Write ye this man childlesse], that in his daȝes shal not be welsum. 1535 Bible (Coverdale) 1 Macc. x. 65 The kynge..wrote him amonge his chefe frendes [L. scripsit eum inter primos amicos]. 1583 Sir T. Smith's De Republica Anglorum i. xxiii. 30 If one were a knight they would write him..sir Iohn Finch knight. 1654 R. Whitlock Ζωοτομία 186 The Invention or Advance of most Arts write [sic] the despised Scholler Creditor. 1687 R. L'Estrange Answer to Let. to Dissenter 47 The Author Writes himself a Church-of-England-Man. 1719 R. Steele Spinster 135 I write myself spinster, because the laws of my country call me so. 1820 W. Scott Abbot I. i. 14 One whom heaven had written childless. 1869 Sporting Gaz. 27 Feb. 147/1 Randolph proved himself what I wrote him to be, a very fast greyhound. 1991 E. Champlin Final Judgm. iv. 73 There we see an emancipated son who wrote himself heir at his father's behest. b. transitive (reflexive). To designate oneself by a particular title in documents, letters, etc.; (also more generally) to call or style oneself. Cf. Phrases 2a(b). ΘΚΠ the mind > language > naming > name [verb (reflexive)] > designate in writing write1420 1420 in T. Rymer Fœdera (1709) IX. 919 We shull not Nempne or Wryte Us Kyng of France. c1540 J. Bellenden tr. Livy Hist. Rome (1903) II. iv. ix. 81 He..wrate him self consul [L. se..consulem scripserit]. 1548 Hall's Vnion: Edward IV f. cxciij Duke Reiner..writyng hymself kyng of Naples, Scicile, and Jerusalem. 1570 B. Googe tr. T. Kirchmeyer Popish Kingdome i. f. 4 Therefore doth he wright, Himselfe as heyre apparent to the Empire. 1649 J. Milton Observations in Articles of Peace with Irish Rebels 54 These write themselves the Presbytery of Belfast. 1678 Life Black Prince in Harleian Misc. (1809) III. 151 John, duke of Lancaster..wrote himself king of Castile and Leon. 1678 J. Godolphin Repertorium Canonicum ii. 13 He [sc. the Archbishop of Canterbury] writes himself Divina Providentia, whereas other Bishops only use Divina Permissione. 1770 P. Luckombe Conc. Hist. Printing 94 St. Giles's, Cripplegate,..of which church he wrote himself vicar in 1566. 1818 W. Scott Heart of Mid-Lothian vii, in Tales of my Landlord 2nd Ser. I. 192 A man of law, Nichil Novit, writing himself procurator before the Sheriff-court. 1857 A. Trollope Barchester Towers xx In due process of time he took his degree, and wrote himself B.A. 1880 J. Ruskin Bible of Amiens (1884) i. 3 Why should..a little Frankish maid [sc. Amiens] write herself the sister of Venice? 1922 G. Hookham Will o' the Wisp 73 The words clearly refer to himself, and make nonsense on any other supposition: so there we have it in black and white: he [sc. Bacon] wrote himself a ‘concealed poet’. 2016 Indian Express (Nexis) 21 Apr. Immediately after the so-called Second Sikh War, Lord Dalhousie, as he writes himself, rushed to Lahore, took the Kohinoor from Lawrence, tied it in a belt around his stomach, and quickly took it to Calcutta. c. transitive (reflexive). To sign oneself; to use as one's signature (the name or form specified by the complement). ΘΚΠ the mind > language > naming > name [verb (reflexive)] > in writing write1590 1590 J. Penry Treat. Reformation sig. 3^v The names of their Honors..I doe for the reverence whiche I owe vnto hir Maiesties government conceale, saue only Iohn Cant. (as he writeth himself). 1691 A. Wood Athenæ Oxonienses I. 19 Thomas Nightingale, who writes himself Philomelus, was born in London. 1730 Magna Britannia V. 522/2 Andrew Borde, in Latin, Andreas Perforatus, as he wrote himself, was a Native of this Town. 1821 W. Scott Kenilworth I. ix. 232 This same Demetrius, for so he wrote himself when in foreign parts. 1859 W. N. Sainsbury Orig. Unpubl. Papers Sir Peter Paul Rubens 2 (note) Adam Van Noort, for so he wrote himself on his pictures. 1911 J. M. Barrie Peter & Wendy v. 80 James Hook, or as he wrote himself, Jas. Hook. 2021 @LovelyF47769049 5 June in twitter.com (accessed 16 June 2021) The authors are fake names and the ‘group’ is in fact only one person, David Evans or ‘David Evans’, as he wrote himself. †29. transitive. To adopt (a particular title or style) in designating oneself. Cf. Phrases 2a(a). Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the mind > language > naming > give a name to [verb (transitive)] > employ in naming oneself write1554 1554–5 Act 1 & 2 Philip & Mary c. 8 §19 in Statutes of Realm (1963) IV. i. 252 Where yo^r Highnes Sovereigne Lady since yo^r comming to the Crowne of this Realme, of a good and Christen Conscience omitted to write the said Stile of Supremacye, specified in one Acte made in the Parlm^t holden at Westminster by prorogacion in the xxxv^th yere of the Raigne of yo^r late Father King Henry Theight. 1573 J. Bridges Supremacie Christian Princes 344 No king of the Iewes wrote this title of supreme head or gouernour. a1616 W. Shakespeare Henry VI, Pt. 1 (1623) iv. vii. 74 The Turke that two and fiftie Kingdomes hath, Writes not so tedious a Stile as this. View more context for this quotation a1669 F. Howgill Dawnings of Gospel-day (1676) 441 Cletus the third Bishop of Rome, was the first that wrote this Title. †30. transitive. To be or attain (a specified age). Also intransitive with of. Obsolete.In quot. 1831 reflexive with the age expressed as a complement (cf. sense 28, Phrases 2a(b)). ΚΠ a1594 R. Greenham Wks. (1612) 660 A man may write of 70 yeeres... Halfe that time is spent they say in sleepe. a1637 B. Jonson Under-woods ii. i. 3 in Wks. (1640) III Though I now write fiftie yeares, I have had, and have my Peeres. 1829 W. Scott Anne of Geierstein II. ii. 32 The elder, well-sized, and dark-visaged, may write fifty and five years. 1831 W. Scott Castle Dangerous v, in Tales of my Landlord 4th Ser. III. 323 The governor had attained his thirtieth year..and his lieutenant did not yet write himself one-and-twenty. Phrases P1. Phrases (chiefly figurative) specifying the particular surface for writing. a. In figurative expressions in which the heart is the surface written on, describing spiritual knowledge or influence, with reference to the heart as the seat of a person's soul or spirit. Usually with heart as the object in a prepositional phrase, e.g. in our hearts, on their hearts. rare after early 18th cent. ΚΠ a1225 (?OE) MS Vesp. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 235 [Jesus Christ] þe sceolde his aȝen wille..in ure heorte write. a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 25586 Suete iesu..þi pines in vr hertes write. a1425 (a1400) in M. Day Wheatley MS (1921) 1 If my hert be hard as stoon, Yhit may thow goostely write þeroon. a1450 (a1400) Medit. Life & Passion of Christ (BL Add.) (1921) l. 1350 Loue þat art so mykel of myȝt, Writ in myn herte þat reuful syȝt. ?1544 J. Bale Epist. Exhortatorye f. vi At your trayterouse insurrection in the northe it had bene wronge with this realme, had there not bene a great nombre which had than the feare of God written in theyr hartes. 1599 J. Davies Nosce Teipsum 84 All these true notes of Immortalitie, In our Hearts Tables we shall written find. 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. 1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost xii. 489 A Comforter..the Law of Faith..upon thir hearts shall write . View more context for this quotation 1709 E. Baynard Advice to Claret-Drinkers Pass by a Tavern-door, my Son, This sacred Truth write on thy Heart; 'Tis easier, Company to shun, Than at a Pint it is to part. 1976 E. W. Gritsch & R. W. Jenson Lutheranism xiv. 200 A law continuously written on the heart by God's Spirit might command one specific possibility in every situation of choice. †b. to write in windows of: to create a record of (one's deeds) in stained glass church windows. Obsolete.Only in Langland, where the practice is deprecated as vainglorious and an attempt to purchase absolution. ΚΠ c1390 (a1376) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Vernon) (1867) A. iii. l. 62 I lere ȝou..such writynge ȝe leue, To writen in Wyndouwes of ȝoure wel dedes. c1400 (c1378) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Laud 581) (1869) B. iii. l. 65 (MED) God to alle good folke suche grauynge defendeth To writen in wyndowes of here wel dedes, On auenture pruyde be peynted þere and pompe of þe worlde. c. Used in various figurative phrases referring to writing on a changeable or shifting substance such as dust, sand, water, or air, to indicate the absence of an enduring record of something, or that a promise or undertaking has not been honoured or adhered to. Frequently in passive constructions, as in written in sand. See also to write in (also on) water at water n. Phrases 2m. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > hiding, concealing from view > keeping from knowledge > keeping from publication > leave no record [verb (intransitive)] writea1535 writea1535 a1535 T. More Hist. Richard III in Wks. (1557) 57/2 For men vse if they haue an euil turne, to write it in marble: & whoso doth vs a good tourne, we write it in duste. 1590 T. Lodge Rosalynde: Euphues Golden Legacie f. 4 Sick mens wills that are parole, and haue neither hand nor seale, are like the lawes of a Citie written in dust. 1620 F. Beaumont & J. Fletcher Phylaster v. 57 All your better deedes shall be in water writ; but this in marble. 1795 J. Nott tr. Catullus Poems II. lxvii. 113 What..are woman's vows? Fit to be written but on air, Or on the stream! 1821 J. Keats in Poet. Wks. (1876) p. xxx Here lies one whose name was writ in water. a1849 J. C. Mangan Coll. Wks.: Poems (1997) III. 136 Oh! let not your vow Have been written in sand! 1935 R. A. Knox Barchester Pilgrimage Prol. 1 The promises of authors are written in sand; they must be allowed their afterthoughts. 2019 @AngelaTopping 28 Oct. in twitter.com (accessed 22 Feb. 2021) So does everyone now realise he doesn't mean a word he says? His promises are written on the water. P2. Phrases with a particular object of the verb. †a. (a) to write man (also to write woman): to be entitled on account of one's age to call oneself a man (or woman). Cf. sense 29. Obsolete. ΚΠ 1600 W. Shakespeare Henry IV, Pt. 2 i. ii. 26 As if he had writte man euer since his father was a batcheler. View more context for this quotation 1672 M. Locke Observ. Ess. Advancem. Mus. 2 When I began to write Man, and had convers'd in the world. 1673 R. Allestree Ladies Calling Pref. sig. b2 All mankind is the Pupil and Disciple of Female Institution: the Daughters till they write women. 1781 C. Johnstone Hist. John Juniper II. 219 Just as I had written man; or..was of age. (b) to write oneself man: (also to write oneself woman): to be entitled on account of one's age to call oneself a man (or woman). Also more generally: to claim to possess the attributes of manhood (or womanhood). Cf. sense 28b. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > people > person > adult > be adult [verb (intransitive)] > become adult > become adult man bearda1425 to wax to man's estate1590 unboy1611 to write oneself man1641 the world > people > person > adult > be adult [verb (intransitive)] > become adult > become adult woman to put up, turn up (one's) hair1662 to write oneself woman1729 1641 T. Jordan Pictures of Passions, Fancies, & Affections sig. B6 Of all our Martial Evils he's the worst, Who fain would write himself Man if he durst. 1650 S. Sheppard Amandus & Sophronia i. i. 2 Comming unto yeares of maturitie (so that now without prejudice to Truth he might write himselfe, Man) he seemed, some golden Casket repleat with Diamonds. 1660 J. Fell Life Hammond (1661) 3 He grew the Tutor of those who begun to write themselves men. 1663 R. Head Hic et Ubique iv. ii. 45 Now since I write my self Man, go thy way. 1729 Applebee's Orig. Weekly-Jrnl. 4 Jan. A studious Application to the several Arts of Cookery, Picking, Preserving, Candying, Jellying and Pastry, must be learn'd before the Pupills, could entirely shake of the Appellation of Misses, or dare to write themselves Women. 1823 W. Scott Quentin Durward III. i. 23 Thou wilt be mad with vanity ere thou writest thyself man. 1903 Everybody's Mag. Oct. 517/1 He who saves himself in some sudden hurricane of money, and keeps his proper feet, may write himself a man indeed. b. to write the book (on): see book n. Phrases 2q. to write policy: see policy n.² 1c. to write one's own ticket: see ticket n.¹ 5d. P3. Other phrases. a. (a) writ (also written) large: displayed or expressed in a prominent way or to striking extent.After Milton's use in quot. 1673, where the sense is ‘written at length or more fully’. ΘΚΠ society > communication > writing > state of having been written > [adjective] > written prominently written with a sunbeam (or in sunbeams)1626 writ (also written) large1826 1673 J. Milton On New Forcers of Conscience in Poems (new ed.) 69 New Presbyter is but Old Priest writ Large.] 1826 E. Irving Babylon I. i. 54 It [sc. the Revelation of John] is also certain parts of the book of Daniel writ large. 1866 ‘G. Eliot’ Felix Holt I. viii. 203 The man was no more than the boy writ large, with an extensive commentary. 1932 W. Lewis Creatures of Habit (1989) 193 The ideology of Progress is writ large all over the Communist propaganda of ‘machine-mindedness’. 1983 M. Cook Muhammad iii. 27 Near Eastern gods were often human beings writ large: they had bodies of human shape, quarrelled, behaved irresponsibly when drunk, and so forth. 2015 P. Hawkins Girl on Train 154 She gave me a hug. Niceness writ large. (b) With large replaced by another complement, as writ double, writ small, etc. ΚΠ 1863 Freeman's Jrnl. (Dublin) 24 Oct. The most honeyed panegyrics, that ever flowed from the lips of Massilion over the bier of a dead Bourbon were modesty writ small compared to any articulate gentleman from New York or Boston. 1951 E. Barker Princ. Social & Polit. Theory i. 39 Corporativism may be defined as syndicalism writ double. 1959 Times 25 Feb. 11/2 This year's Defence White Paper..is last year's writ quietly. 2005 New Yorker 7 Nov. 120/2 It became the world writ small, miniature valleys and mountains, square inches of variegated detail. 2018 Philippines Daily Inquirer (Nexis) 4 Apr. What we see today on the internet is a kind of Gresham's law writ global as bad ideas and fake news drive away the good, reliable ones. b. colloquial. (a) to be written all over (a person or thing): (of a quality, attribute, feeling, etc.) to be clearly discernible from the appearance of (a person or thing); (of an emotion) to be apparent from (a person's face or expression). Esp. in to be written all over one's face. Cf. sense 9. ΘΚΠ society > communication > indication > [verb (passive)] > be plainly indicated to be written all over (a person or thing)1838 to have (something) written all over him, her, it, etc.1859 1838 Virginia Free Press 3 May All was as nice as wax, and yet as substantial as iron; comfort was written all over the room. 1839 Northern Whig 15 Oct. 4/2 Marry! no; Dolly 'ull never marry. There always was an old look about her; there's the old-maid written all over her. 1914 ‘I. Hay’ Knight on Wheels (ed. 2) xxix. 292 It must be written all over me if you can spot it... Yes, you are right... I'm in love. 1992 J. Torrington Swing Hammer Swing! xxxi. 281 I was a walking zero, a complete zilch with loser written all over me. 2014 MailOnline (Nexis) 28 Mar. Tori's troubles are written all over her face. (b) to have (something) written all over him, her, it, etc.: to clearly display (a particular attribute, quality, influence, etc.). ΘΚΠ society > communication > indication > [verb (passive)] > be plainly indicated to be written all over (a person or thing)1838 to have (something) written all over him, her, it, etc.1859 1859 Charleston (S. Carolina) Mercury 19 Apr. No one would need to be told that he was a soldier. He has it written all over him, from head to foot. 1903 W. D. Howells Lett. Home xxiv. 147 A tall, gaunt figure of a man two vacant seats away, who had Down East written all over his fisherman's face and his clothing-store best. 1931 Amer. Mercury Feb. 167/1 He just had down-and-outer written all over him. 1979 J. Gardner Nostradamus Traitor vi. 20 One was with her... Had DDR written all over him. 2013 Guardian 5 Jan. (Guide Suppl.) Central Listings 4/1 A dense, powerful 1950s saga that has ‘masterpiece’ written all over it. c. colloquial (originally and chiefly North American). (and) that's all she wrote and variants: expressing finality or closure; ‘that's it.’ [Probably originally in reference to the notion of a woman writing a letter to inform her husband or lover that their relationship was over; the phrase was likely popularized by its use in various songs of the 1940s (apparently earliest in Ernest Tubb's 1942 song That's all she Wrote).] ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > completing > completed or finished [phrase] over with1822 (and) that's all she wrote1935 1935 Brownsville (Texas) Herald 16 June 1/1 The assessor-collectors do not have the power, the commissioners' courts do not have the power. That's all she wrote and it's final, the attorney general says in language much more eloquent and technical. 1966 R. Guy Bird at my Window i. 14 All that rot-gut whiskey, mixes up with a lot of shit and then some stud comes around blowing gage, man, and that's all she wrote. 1993 Globe & Mail (Toronto) (Nexis) 16 Aug. That was all she wrote for the three-time British Open champion when he missed his birdie put. 2005 R. Hoban Come dance with Me xix. 112 Either of them makes a mistake and Whammo! that's all she wrote. d. history is written by the victors: see history n. Phrases 2c. to write home about: see home adv. Phrases 6. not worth the paper it's written on: see paper n. 1d. written with a sunbeam: see sunbeam n. Phrases. Phrasal verbs With adverbs in specialized senses. to write back 1. a. intransitive. To reply to a letter or other written communication. ΘΚΠ society > communication > correspondence > letter-writing > write a letter [verb (intransitive)] > in reply rescribe?1462 to write back1550 1550 W. Lynne tr. J. Funke Actes & Hist. Worlde 1532–50 in tr. J. Carion Thre Bks. Cronicles f. cclxii^v He wrote back vnto the Disputers and Auditours of the Euangelicall doctrine, desyrynge to haue their counsayll in this matter. 1656 J. Fowler Hist. Troubles Suethland & Poland 93 Duke Charles, not satisfied with this literary assecuration, wrote back unto the King. 1736 Weekly Oracle 208/2 Caligula, now mad with Rage, wrote back to Petronius in the severest Language. 1851 tr. F. Guizot Monk & Washington 86 Exacting a promise that he would not write back to him. 1916 T. S. Eliot Let. 10 Jan. (1988) I. 126 I wrote back asking for terms. 1976 Dædalus Winter 41 She writes back promptly with some sensible-seeming advice. 2018 M. Hanna-Attisha What Eyes don't See viii. 108 But even Roebuck didn't write back. That was a shock. Techies are always connected to devices and superresponsive. b. transitive. To write (something) as an answer or reply to a letter or other written communication. Chiefly with that-clause or direct quotation of the written text as object. ΚΠ 1595 A. Hartwell tr. G. T. Minadoi Hist. Warres Turkes & Persians 16 And therefore he wrote back againe, that he was mynded to take the rightfull succession vpon him. 1676 I. Newton Let. 10 Jan. in Corr. (1959) I. 410 [I] wrote back to you that I had no mind to meddle with it. 1790 T. Lindsey Let. 15 May (2012) II. 53 It was agreed in a College-committee, that a letter should be written to signify to M^r Wakefield the terms proposed for any one who should fill the place of classical Tutor, and the person who was to mention it to him, was to write back his sentiments. 1831 Mrs. Arbuthnot Let. 18 Feb. in C. Arbuthnot Corr. (1941) 140 The old housekeeper wrote to her something about it, & she wrote back word, ‘God's will be done.’ 1892 Tennyson in Mem. (1897) II. 423 I have just had a letter from a man who wants my opinion as to whether Shakespeare's plays were written by Bacon. I feel inclined to write back, ‘Sir, don't be a fool’. 1949 D. Smith I Capture Castle (1995) xi. 190 Neil wrote back:..I shall be tickled to death to have you for a sister-in-law. Love from Neil. 2007 New Yorker 9 Apr. 88/2 Borgese sent some sheets of Arli's typing to a poetry critic, who wrote back that the dog had a ‘definite affinity with the “concretist” groups in Brazil, Scotland, and Germany’. 2. transitive. Finance. To reintroduce (a sum) into an account as either profit or loss; (now) spec. to restore to profit (a provision for bad or doubtful debts, tax, or other liabilities previously made against profits and no longer required). Cf. write-back n. ΚΠ 1635 R. Dafforne Merchants Mirrour sig. X2 For the parcells discharge, entred the 13. of March, which being agreed upon, I write back––3067 Guil[ders]. 1640 R. Dafforne Apprentices Time-Entertainer 37 Suppose the Conditioned Time to be expired, and the Accepting Man detaineth the mony at Interest; How?..This may be written back from the first accompt of Trafficke. 1653 J. Collins Introd. Merchants Accts. sig. D^v To Iames Blisset owing by him for goods sold, for the which goods have credit, and is here wrote back. 1777 in G. Rous Restoration King of Tanjore Considered App. xxx. 122 The balance due from him.., which had been before that date carried to his credit, and since wrote back to his debit, was Pagodas 9,38,347. 1832 Minutes of Evid. Select Comm. Affairs E. India Company II. i. 5 in Parl. Papers 1831–2 (H.C. 735-II) X. 1 The 700,000 l. advanced..must be written back as a charge upon the Indian revenue, and no longer stand as a supply to London. 1849 Accountants' Rep. 2 in Rep. Comm. Investig. to Shareholders Eastern Counties' Railway Company This sum was held bonâ fide in reserve until the half-year ending 4th July, 1846, when it was written back to the credit of Revenue. 1899 Afr. Rev. 24 June 536 Amounts charged in Profit and Loss Account of previous years for Depreciation of Shares and Investments not now required and written back. 1918 Bull. National Tax Assoc. Nov. 42/2 Where an asset has been written down but the sum written off is not allowed as a deduction for the purposes of the income tax, it may be written back for the purpose of increase of capital. 2000 Ann. Rep. & Accts. (Cable & Wireless) 53 The Group wrote back £46m of the original provision. to write down 1. transitive. To set down (words, thoughts, information, etc.) in writing; to express or record (something) in written form; to make a note of (something); to jot down. ΘΚΠ society > communication > writing > [verb (transitive)] > set down in writing adighteOE to set on writea900 dightc1000 writeOE brevea1225 layc1330 indite1340 take1418 annote1449 printa1450 scribe1465 redact?a1475 reduce1485 letter1504 recite1523 to commit to writing (also paper)1529 pen1530 reduce?1533 token up1535 scripture1540 titulea1550 to set down1562 quote1573 to put down1574 paper1594 to write down1594 apprehend1611 fix1630 exarate1656 depose1668 put1910 1594 W. Shakespeare Titus Andronicus ii. iv. 3 Write downe thy minde bewray thy meaning so. View more context for this quotation c1595 First Pt. Reign Richard II (1929) iii. 54 Yo^u & I will heere shadowe o^r selues & writ downe ther speches. a1616 W. Shakespeare Winter's Tale (1623) iv. iv. 560 Things knowne betwixt vs three, Ile write you downe. View more context for this quotation 1682 in W. R. Scott Rec. Sc. Cloth Manufactory New Mills (1905) 40 He gives out wool to scrubleing and writes itt down. 1711 R. Steele Spectator No. 155. ⁋2 I will..write down all they say to me. 1751 R. Paltock Life Peter Wilkins I. Introd. p. xi For the Purpose of writing down his Life from his own Mouth. 1853 C. Dickens Bleak House xvii. 161 I write down these opinions, not because I believe that [etc.]. 1891 W. Briggs & G. H. Bryan Elements Coordinate Geom.: Pt. 1 143 This enables us to write down at once the equation. 1983 C. Voigt Callender Papers (1989) xi. 157 He took out a little notebook and apologized, ‘I'll never remember if I don't write it down.’ 2015 N. Carr Glass Cage (2016) i. 10 Explicit knowledge, which is also known as declarative knowledge, is the stuff you can actually write down: how to change a flat tire [etc.]. 2. transitive (reflexive). With complement. To call oneself or make oneself appear to be a specified thing. Cf. sense Phrases 2a(b). ΚΠ 1600 W. Shakespeare Much Ado about Nothing iv. ii. 73 O that he were here to write me downe an asse! View more context for this quotation 1604 W. Shakespeare Hamlet i. ii. 222 We did thinke it writ downe in our dutie To let you knowe of it. View more context for this quotation 1653 H. More Antidote against Atheisme i. ii. 6 It can be nothing but his grosse ignorance in this kind of Arithmetick that shall embolden him to write himself down gainer and not me. 1854 C. J. Lever Dodd Family Abroad xvi. 138 It's like writing yourself down Goth at once to oppose these. 1934 H. L. Beales & R. S. Lambert Mem. Unemployed 60 I looked at myself in the mirror and wrote myself down as a ghastly failure. 2013 National Post (Canada) (Nexis) 8 Aug. (Arts & Life section) a6 I had to write myself down a skeptic. 3. †a. transitive (reflexive). To diminish or destroy one's reputation through what one has written; esp. to damage one's literary reputation by publishing inferior work. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > the arts > literature > art or occupation of writer or author > make one's way by writing [verb (reflexive)] > damage one's reputation by writing to write down1716 the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > disrepute > damage to reputation > degrading or debasement > degrade oneself or stoop [verb (reflexive)] > by inferior writing to write down1716 1716 J. Addison Free-holder No. 40. There is not a more melancholly Object in the Learned World, than a Man who has written himself down. 1809 B. H. Malkin tr. A. R. Le Sage Adventures Gil Blas I. ii. vii. 250 He has written himself down at a terrible rate by his last publication. 1844 John Bull 30 Nov. 759/3 Mr. James is in no danger of writing himself out.., but does he not think he is in some danger of writing himself down. 1890 Northern Echo 1 Dec. 2/7 Nr. Parnell has performed the feat of writing himself down. 1914 Times Lit. Suppl. 4 June 2/3 Reade, vain and apt to write himself down in the act of writing himself up, was all but consistently the worst foe of his reputation. b. transitive. To disparage or criticize (a person) in writing; to write disparagingly or depreciatively of. Also intransitive. Cf. to write up 5 at Phrasal verbs. ΘΚΠ the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > disrepute > damage to reputation > disparagement or depreciation > disparage or depreciate [verb (transitive)] > in writing to rhyme to death1681 to write down1726 1726 J. Swift Let. 27 Nov. in Corr. (1963) III. 187 However, one thing I was pleased with, that after you had writ me down, you repented, and writ me up. 1773 S. Johnson in J. Boswell Jrnl. Tour Hebr. 1 Oct. (1785) 338 It was said to old Bentley, upon the attacks against him, ‘Why, they'll write you down.’ ‘No, sir,..no man was ever written down but by himself.’ 1850 H. Walter Tindale's Answer More Introd. Notice 2 This effort to write down Tyndale and his labours. 1877 W. Stubbs 17 Lect. Study Hist. (1886) v. 110 It seems..that no man's zeal is roused to write unless it is moved by the desire to write down. 1944 L. Mumford Condition of Man vii. 245 Bacon has been unfairly written down because he showed little comprehension of the important work being done by his contemporaries. 2020 @CloverWind_ 6 Sept. in twitter.com (accessed 16 Mar. 2021) He was written down, demoted from RB and yet he didn't lose heart and put in his performance. This guy has some heart. †c. transitive. To defeat or bring down (a government) through pamphleteering or writing in the press. Obsolete.Apparently only in occasional, ad hoc use. ΚΠ 1798 Monthly Mag. Jan. 49 [Wilkes] actually wrote down at least one administration. ?1825 Emancipation & Emancipators 17 You Sir wish to write down the government. 4. a. intransitive. Of an author, esp. of literary works: to adapt one's style in order to attract readers of supposedly less sophisticated taste or literary appreciation, or address a less knowledgeable readership. Often with the implication of a condescending or patronizing attitude on the part of the author. Often with to indicating the readership. Cf. sense 15d, to write up 4 at Phrasal verbs. ΚΠ 1809 B. H. Malkin tr. A. R. Le Sage Adventures Gil Blas IV. xi. vii. 311 I should be sorry to write down to their comprehension. 1861 J. Pycroft Ways & Words 33 Authors will learn to write down to the lowest standard. 1903 A. Bennett Truth about Author xii. 150 I had entered into a compact with myself that I would never ‘write down’ to the public in a long fiction. 1960 Guardian 25 Feb. 6/4 English writers seem to write down to their readers and American writers write as if addressing their equals. 2009 Australian (Nexis) 4 Mar. (Lit. Rev. ed.) 20 Hartnett has often said that she will not ‘write down’ or make concessions [in her novels]. b. transitive (in passive). Of a literary work: to be written in a style adapted to readers of supposedly less sophisticated taste or literary appreciation, or designed to address a less knowledgeable readership. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > the arts > literature > style of language or writing > weakness or feebleness > weaken [verb (transitive)] water1529 emasculate1608 wire-draw1660 to water down1832 to write down1876 sanitize1934 pasteurize1951 saccharinize1971 1876 C. M. Yonge Womankind xxviii. 243 Books..which do not dwarf the mind as a series of books written down are apt to do. 1958 I. F. Stone's Weekly 2 June 3/1 The pamphlet is written down, in the condescending, ‘Auntie Knows Best’ manner to which Mr. Acheson became habituated at the State Department. 1990 Families for Literacy Program (Calif. State Libr. Devel. Services) 8 This resistance seemed to be overcome when the materials introduced were simplified for reading to children and not perceived as being ‘written down’ in order to address the reading level of the parent. 5. transitive. Finance. To reduce the nominal value of (stock, goods, etc.). ΘΚΠ society > trade and finance > management of money > keeping accounts > keep accounts [verb (transitive)] > enter in an account > other book-keeping procedures control1422 avouch1539 allocate1551 respond1588 score1592 carry1652 post1707 to carry forward1721 off-reckon1721 O. Ni.a1726 to carry over1745 rule1845 to write down1876 to close off188. qualify1884 accrue1915 net1947 gross1954 strip1980 1876 Liverpool Mercury 12 Jan. 8/3 There is...no dividend for the past year, and it is proposed to write down the capital account to the extent of £5 per share. 1897 Westm. Gaz. 8 Sept. 6/1 The assets have been written down in a drastic manner. 1934 Accounting Rev. 9 121/2 It is not ‘conservative’ to write down the balance sheet valuations of depreciable and amortizable assets below bona fide cost. 2003 Daily Tel. 22 Apr. 32/4 But goodwill is, at best, an unexact science and the group has already written down the carrying value of its fixed assets. to write in †1. transitive. Apparently: to give a title or subtitle to (a book). Obsolete. ΚΠ a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) (1963) Kings Prol. l. 78 Þerfore Sapiens þat comunly is writyn in of Salamon & of Jesu þe sone of Syrak & þe booc of Judith & tobie & pastor ben not in þe canown. 2. a. transitive. To insert (words or information) into a document, list, etc. Cf. sense 16e.In quot. c1384: to inscribe (words) on a surface. ΘΚΠ society > communication > writing > [verb (transitive)] > insert in writing to write inc1384 insert1533 set1535 ascribe1648 append1843 c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Royal) (1850) Apoc. xxi. 12 It hadde a wal..and in the ȝatis of it twelue aungels, and names writun in. 1463 in S. Tymms Wills & Inventories Bury St. Edmunds (1850) 42 A book of papyr to wryte in expensis. 1546 S. Gardiner Detection Deuils Sophistrie f. xxxvi^v Bicause it is worthye many readynges, I haue ben the rather persuaded, to write in, the originall in greke. 1797 Christie's Catal. Hogarth's Wks. 5 1. Portrait of Hogarth with a dog. 2. Ditto, the head touched upon by Hogarth, and the name, &c. written in by himself. 1863 M. E. Braddon Eleanor's Victory I. 108 All the great scenes have been written in by him. 1895 S. R. Crockett Men of Moss-hags liv. 390 It was a moment's work to write in the other name [on a pardon]. 1903 Athenæum 3 Jan. 10/2 The date is written in by the rubricator. 2008 Star Tribune (Minneapolis) (Nexis) 7 Mar. 1 a Jahnke allegedly whited out BAC (Burnsville Athletic Club) on checks and wrote in his name. b. transitive. Originally U.S. To insert (the name of an unlisted person) on a ballot, as the candidate of one's choice. Cf. write-in n., write-in adj. ΘΚΠ society > authority > office > appointment to office > choosing or fact of being chosen for office > choose for office [verb (transitive)] > enter name of unlisted candidate to write in1920 1920 Woman Citizen (N.Y.) 1 May 1213/2 You did not want to vote for him. You scratched out his name and you wrote in the name of the Democratic candidate. 1932 Sun (Baltimore) 23 Aug. 2/2 He knew nothing of the circulation of cards in the Middle West urging voters to write in Smith's name on the Presidential ballot. 1957 Ann. Reg. 1956 174 Democratic voters ‘wrote in’ their preference for Mr. Stevenson over Senator Kefauver in the proportions of 8 to 5. 2018 Dayton (Ohio) Daily News (Nexis) 13 Apr. c9 I just voted for the all-time Kent State baseball team and your name wasn't on the ballot. I was going to write in your name but there was no place for it. 3. a. intransitive. To send a letter or similar communication to a newspaper, business, or other organization, typically with a request, suggestion, etc.Apparently originally in theatrical contexts. ΘΚΠ society > communication > correspondence > letter-writing > write a letter [verb (intransitive)] writeOE epistolize1650 to write in1834 letter1861 1834 New Monthly Mag. May 51 The time that elapsed between his last application to Drury-lane and his appearance was many months, for he ‘wrote in’, as it is termed, from Exeter about the early part of the summer of 1813, acted first in London, January 26th, 1814. 1949 N. Marsh Swing, Brother, Swing ix. 209 It's a mystery, that paper... The types that write in are amazing. 1957 M. McCarthy in New Yorker 23 Mar. 76/2 I wrote in for a Vogue pattern to make a tennis dress. 1972 Listener 28 Dec. 904/3 If anyone else doesn't know.…write in and I'll explain. 2013 T. Thorn Bedsit Disco Queen 314 Q thought this was hilarious, that a band would actually write in to the letters page to slag off their own record. b. transitive. To send (a letter) to a newspaper, business, or other organization; to submit. ΚΠ 1903 Evening News (Portsmouth) 2 Feb. (Fourth ed.) 3/6 l am glad one of your readers wrote in his letter inquiring why lamp-posts had been put up but no lights. 1928 Publishers' Weekly 14 July 183 The customers..were not slow about writing in their suggestions. 2020 Guardian (Nexis) 20 Oct. (T.V. & Radio section) There was also an episode on testicular cancer where a viewer wrote in a letter after it was aired saying that they had tested themselves while watching. to write off 1. †a. transitive. Banking. To authorize a withdrawal, payment, or transfer of (a specified sum) from one's account. Obsolete. ΚΠ 1635 R. Dafforne Merchants Mirrour 14 Suppose the charges that you did at the first sending were writ off from his above-named Roan account, unto his account Currant. 1682 J. Scarlett Stile of Exchanges 107 To send the..Bill to the House of the Acceptant, and desire him to order that the Value be write of in Bank. 1751 W. Beawes Lex Mercatoria Rediviva 363 Write off from my Bank Book, one hundred and fifty-seven Pounds. 1810 T. Mortimer Gen. Dict. Commerce, Trade, & Manuf. at Bank One of the clerks..writes off the sum required. b. transitive. Finance. To cancel the record of (a bad debt); to acknowledge the loss of or failure to recover (an asset). Also (often with against), with reference to the reduction of one's taxable income equivalent to the value of certain allowed losses. ΘΚΠ society > trade and finance > management of money > keeping accounts > keep accounts [verb (transitive)] > cancelling due balance or debt to write off1815 to cover into the Treasury1868 1815 H. G. Hilbers Statement 43 I should write off the loss, but I never could prevail upon myself to give him the bitter reflection of having thus calumniated me, and the £3,911. 0s. 2d. always remained open upon the books. 1891 Law Times 90 283/2 The company wrote off the loss as a bad debt. 1927 Jrnl. Accountancy Mar. 177 If the picture is a failure and does not earn out the advance the distributor may have to write off the loss. 1978 Time 4 Dec. 74/1 Shelters enable people to generate paper losses to write off against their regular income, thus shielding their cash from the full bite of the IRS. 1992 Sky Mag. (Delta Airlines) Dec. 95/2 When your income exceeds $150,000, you can write off your losses only against..your rental income. 2010 Wall St. Jrnl. 18 Oct. c7/2 Delinquencies are loans that may be written off in the future. 2. a. To compose and send a letter or similar communication. Usually followed by a prepositional phrase introduced by to, indicating the recipient. Cf. earlier to write over 2 at Phrasal verbs. (a) intransitive. ΚΠ 1751 J. Crump Reply D. Molloy's Libel 4 On the Publication of Molloy's Libel, on Tuesday the 4th of December, I wrote off to London. My Letters of said Date did not arrive there until the 19th of said Month. 1772 J. Gough tr. J. M. B. de la M. Guyon Life Lady Guion II. ii. xv. 69 Our adversaries immediately writ off to Paris. A hundred ridiculous stories were circulated about this journey; comedies were acted on it, things invented at pleasure, and as false as any in the world could be. 1855 C. Kingsley Westward Ho! xv He wrote off to Frank at Whitehall. 1866 C. J. Lever Sir Brook Fossbrooke II. 283 I..have written off to Tom Lendrick to come over here with his sister. 1944 M. Irwin Young Bess (1956) xvii. 183 [He] wrote off to Jane's parents to have her returned to his care and his mother's chaperonage. 2020 @HRedpigs 5 May in twitter.com (accessed 11 May 2021) I wanted to be a medic, I wrote off to the @RoyalNavy, @BritishArmy, and @RoyalAirForce, the RN wrote back first. (b) transitive. ΚΠ 1847 Punch 16 Oct. 147/1 What does Mrs. Punch do—unbeknownst to her lord and master—but write off a letter to X. Y. Z., care of the bookmaker, Haymarket. 1956 J. Kerouac Let. 5 Jan. in Sel. Lett. 1940–56 (1995) 535 Just wrote off my four letters to the district rangers up in Wash. Applying for the fire-spotting jobs. 2006 Sunday Mirror (Nexis) 29 Oct. 20 After writing off letters to lots of actors he finally got sponsorship from Silence of the Lambs Oscar-winner Anthony Hopkins. b. intransitive. With for. To request (something) by mail; to send off a mail-order request for. ΚΠ 1862 Family Friend Midsummer 472/1 I have written off for a post-chaise. 1894 Royal Cornwall Gaz. 5 July 4/7 I saw there an account of the cure of a young girl who had been cured by Dr. Williams' Pink Pills for Pale People. I wrote off for a box. 1968 Times 11 Dec. 7/6 To catch the Christmas post you must write off for a catalogue. 2000 Coventry Evening Tel. (Nexis) 5 Dec. 30 If you like this recipe and would like to try others, why not write off for a free copy of the ‘Cooking With Lyle’ or ‘Icing Made Easy’ booklets. 3. transitive. To compose (a written text, as a letter, a poem, etc.) with speed, haste, or great facility. Now rare. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > the arts > literature > art or occupation of writer or author > be the author of or write (a work) [verb (transitive)] > compose hastily scribble1576 palter1588 to throw together1646 dash1726 dash off, out1786 to run off1809 to strike off1821 to write off1841 1841 S. Warren Ten Thousand a-Year III. iv. 171 Kate..wrote off..a heart-rending letter to good old Lady Stratton. 1862 W. M. Thackeray Adventures of Philip II. xii. 279 Philip was writing off at home, in his inn, one of his grand tirades, dated ‘Paris, Thursday’—so as to be in time, you understand, for the post of Saturday. 1919 A. Safroni-Middleton Gabrielle of Lagoon vi. 102 He sat down by the bamboo table and wrote off a poem. He was so much in love that even the poem was good. 1938 C. Headlam Diary 10 Apr. in S. Ball Parl. & Politics in Age Churchill & Attlee (1999) ii. 127 There is such a spate of books nowadays about current topics... Most of them are pretty poor stuff—written off by journalists who either like or dislike dictators. 4. figurative, To dismiss (something or someone) as insignificant, worthless, or not worthy of consideration.Probably originally an extension of sense 1. a. transitive. With complement introduced by as, indicating how the person or thing in question is viewed. ΘΚΠ the mind > attention and judgement > inattention > ignoring, disregard > ignore, disregard [verb (transitive)] fordita800 forheedc1275 forget1297 to let out ofa1300 spele1338 to go beside ——a1382 waivec1400 remiss?a1425 to go by ——?c1450 misknowledge?a1475 misknow1483 misken1494 to go besides ——1530 to let pass1530 unregard1545 unmind1562 overlook1570 mislippen1581 suspend1581 omit1589 blanch1605 to blow off1631 disregard1641 to pass with ——1641 to give (a person or thing) the go-by1654 prescind1654 nihilify1656 proscribe1680 unnotice1776 ignore1795 to close one's mind1797 cushion1818 to leave out in the cold1839 overslaugh1846 unheed1847 to write off1861 to look through ——1894 scrub1943 the mind > language > statement > refusal > [verb (transitive)] > dismiss from consideration forheedc1275 sequesterc1380 forlaya1400 to lay awaya1400 to put, set or lay byc1425 to lay by1439 to lay asidec1440 to set, lay, put apart1477 bar1481 to lay apart1526 to throw out1576 disclude1586 to fling aside1587 to fling away1587 exclude1593 daff1598 to throw by1644 eliminate1850 to write off1861 to filter out1934 slam-dunk1975 1861 Belfast News-let. 2 Feb. It is no longer the subtle schemer we have to guard against, but him and the daring crowd, who set truth at defiance or write it off as folly. 1939 Fortune Nov. 94/1 The way in which the broadcasters scooped the newspapers on the Athenia sinking might be written off as beginner's luck. 1963 L. MacNeice Var Parable (1965) i. 21 A suspension of antipathy towards its author's attitude will give weight to what otherwise might be written off as whimsical. 2002 Independent 25 Mar. 8/2 It is easy to write him off as a boring, grey bank manager. b. transitive. Without complement. ΚΠ 1913 Daily Mail 3 Nov. 6/4 ‘Of course, one has to take the pot-luck every time; but I've always had the luck so far.’..He deliberately placed the possibility of the ‘pot’ part in the background or wrote it off completely in his optimism. 1963 Times 16 Feb. 9/3 The campaign cannot be written off because of the hamfistedness of its beginnings. 1998 Girls' Life Oct. 36/2 From the title of this film, we thought it might be a real snoozer. But don't be so fast to write it off. 2013 T. Creed Redstone Station iv. 27 Who are we to write off a young bloke? 5. a. transitive. colloquial (originally Air Force slang). To damage (something) beyond repair; to wreck, destroy; (now usually) to leave (a vehicle) so damaged as to be beyond repair or not worth repairing.Originating in the slang of the Royal Flying Corps and the Australian Flying Corps during the First World War (1914–18).Not in common use in the United States. ΘΚΠ the world > existence and causation > creation > destruction > damage > damage or injure [verb (transitive)] > beyond repair (a car, etc.) total1895 to write off1919 scuttle1941 cream1972 1919 R. H. Reece Night Bombing with Bedouins vi. 90 But as a pilot I was a complete failure; I ‘wrote off’ several machines and in my last crash I nearly ‘wrote off’ myself. 1942 N. Balchin Darkness falls from Air ii. 44 They seemed to be dropping a hell of a lot of stuff... I saw next morning that they'd written off a pub in Notting Hill. 1973 C. Bonington Next Horizon xi. 166 She had crashed the car twice, writing it off completely on the second occasion. 2020 Taranaki (N.Z.) Daily News (Nexis) 21 Aug. 4 A drink-driver mounted the footpath and clipped a power box before crossing a New Plymouth intersection and smashing into a brick wall, writing off his car. b. transitive (reflexive). slang (originally and chiefly Australian). To get very drunk; spec. to incapacitate oneself with a hangover. ΚΠ 1970 J. Hibberd White with Wire Wheels in A. Buzo et al. Plays 219 Boy, am I going to write myself off tonight! 2000 Daily Tel. (Sydney) (Nexis) 23 Apr. 57 Toowoomba only trained twice a week, so I'd go out on the town and write myself off. 2018 Border Mail (Austral.) (Nexis) 30 Nov. He was drinking every day pretty much, he'd write himself off on weekends. to write out 1. transitive. To make a full transcription or written version of (something); spec. to make a fair copy of (a document); to produce a full or formal version of (notes, minutes, etc.). Cf. to write up 1c at Phrasal verbs. ΘΚΠ society > communication > writing > manner of writing > [verb (transitive)] > write out at length to write outa1400 to set out1545 extenda1639 expand1894 a1400 (a1388) tr. Richard of Wallingford Exafrenon (Trin. Cambr.) f. 172 Ȝif þu wolt haue þe entre of þe sunne into eny signe..write out þe day & þe houre & þe minute. 1548 T. Cooper Bibliotheca Eliotæ (rev. ed.) at Describo To write out a boke by an other mans copie. 1632 R. Burton Anat. Melancholy (ed. 4) Democritus to Rdr. 12 Allowing him sixe or seuen Amanuenses to write out his dictats. a1700 in Publ. Catholic Rec. Soc. (1911) 9 336 His Bookes, w[hi]ch she write out and faithfully practised. 1776 Trial Maha Rajah Nundocomar for Forgery 41/1 The writer wrote out a Persian bond. 1809 B. H. Malkin tr. A. R. Le Sage Adventures Gil Blas III. vii. xii. 154 I..offered to write his memorials out fair. 1877 W. Smith & H. Wace Dict. Christian Biogr. I. 208 Atticus..wrote out his sermons and learnt them by heart. 1930 J. Buchan Castle Gay xi. 172 He retired to the inn..to write out his notes. 1977 J. M. Levine Dr. Woodward's Shield iv. 70 He kept a copy for himself, fairly written out and intended clearly for the possibility of publication. 2020 C. Atkins Bit of Stretch iii. 68 The IT revolution has clearly passed Wandsworth by, as the slips have all been written out by hand. 2. transitive (reflexive). To exhaust one's powers of writing; spec. to run out of material or ideas for literary work. Cf. outwrite v. 4. ΘΚΠ society > communication > writing > manner of writing > [verb (transitive)] > exhaust by excessive writing to write out1738 overwrite1752 outwrite1883 society > leisure > the arts > literature > art or occupation of writer or author > make one's way by writing [verb (reflexive)] > exhaust one's ideas by writing to write out1738 1738 City Corruption & Mal-administration Display'd 13 But was I to write myself out, I have Matter sufficient to fill a Volume. 1817 Edinb. Monthly Mag. Aug. 519/2 We have heard fears expressed, that Miss Edgeworth might have written herself out. 1832 W. Scott St. Ronan's Well (new ed.) p. vii The Author had exhausted himself, or, as the technical phrase expresses it, written himself out. 1905 Author 1 Feb. 152 He has written himself out. 2021 @FoloWatkins 4 Jan. in twitter.com (accessed 22 Mar. 2021) Going to bed. I've written myself out today. 3. transitive. To remove (a character) from a long-running story or series, typically by introducing a storyline which accounts for their absence. Sometimes also applied to other distinctive elements of the story's imaginary world. Cf. sense 14c. ΘΚΠ society > communication > broadcasting > putting on or producing broadcast > put on or produce broadcast [verb (transitive)] > write script > write out character to write out1967 1967 Listener 13 Apr. 503/2 That [sc. the Forsyte] Saga is now more than half way through (Saturdays, BBC-2)... Some of the old characters have been written out. 1971 O. Norton Corpse-bird Cries i. 2 You got them to write you out for a bit. 1982 A. Road Doctor Who: Making of TV Series 16/1 Eric Saward was asked..in the course of his story..to ‘write out’ the Doctor's sonic screwdriver. to write over 1. transitive. To rewrite (something), usually in order to make improvements to the content or (esp. in early use) to produce a fair copy. Cf. overwrite v. 4.Not in common use after early 20th cent. ΘΚΠ society > communication > writing > manner of writing > rewriting > rewrite [verb (transitive)] to write over1555 rescribe1565 rewrite1603 repen1615 rework1837 overwrite1874 1555 R. Eden tr. Peter Martyr of Angleria Decades of Newe Worlde i. x. f. 48 This order haue I appoynted, lest I shulde bee compelled often times to wryte ouer the hole woorke, or sende yowe the same defaced with blottes and interlynynge. 1591 in I. W. Archer et al. Relig., Politics, & Society in 16th-cent. Eng. (2003) 243 I will forfeyte nothing yf, uppon the windes' change, the wordes that are written over doe alter. 1597 W. Shakespeare Richard III iii. vi. 5 This is the indictment...Eleuen houres I spent to wryte it ouer . View more context for this quotation a1645 Ld. Napier Mem. (1793) 51 They might gaine some tyme in wreating them [sc. articles of accusation] over to consult vpon the mater. 1710 J. Swift Tale of Tub (ed. 5) Apol. sig. a2^v He [sc.* the Author] had however a blotted Copy by him, which he intended to have writ over, with many Alterations. ?1751 Earl of Chatham Lett. to Nephew (1804) i. 1 I am extremely pleased with your translation now it is writ over fair. 1859 Testimony Case of Ford against Everts for Slander 15 Mrs. Ford called one day with a paper and made so many alterations that she wrote it over again. 1911 A. C. Ray Woman with Purpose ix. 92 ‘And you want me to write it over?’ There came a tired drop in Dorcas's voice. Writing it over meant a delay of many, many weeks. 2012 @Leah_Ellis21 13 Apr. in twitter.com (accessed 16 Apr. 2021) When i dont like the way i wrote something, ill write it over until its perfect lol. †2. intransitive. To compose and send a letter. Cf. to write off 2a at Phrasal verbs. Obsolete. ΚΠ 1569 R. Grafton Chron. I. vii. 72 The king writing ouer to his sonne, required him that I should lyue in safetie and peace. 1577 W. Harrison Descr. Eng. (1878) iii. i. ii. 10 He wrote ouer for more of the same fish. †3. transitive. To put writing on or over (a surface, other writing, etc.); to cover with writing; = overwrite v. 2b. Frequently with with. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ society > communication > writing > [verb (transitive)] > cover with writing writec1225 to write over1649 overwrite1820 1649 R. Baxter Saints Everlasting Rest (new ed.) iv. xi. 535 When they are grown up in sin, they are like the same paper written over with falshoods; which must all be bloted out again, and truth written in the place. 1828 R. Duppa Trav. Italy 9 I saw MSS. of some of the Codes..written over with monkish commentaries. to write up 1. a. transitive. To give a written account of (a matter, an event, etc.); (now often) to publish a report or review of (something) in a newspaper, magazine, etc. ΘΚΠ society > communication > record > written record > record in writing [verb (transitive)] writeeOE awriteeOE markOE titlea1325 record1340 registera1393 accordc1450 chronicle1460 to write upa1475 calendar1487 enrol1530 prickc1540 scripture1540 to set down1562 report1600 reservea1616 tabulatea1646 to take down1651 actuate1658 to commit to writing (also paper)1695 to mark down1881 slate1883 society > leisure > the arts > literature > prose > narrative or story > tell (story) [verb (transitive)] > tell story of record1340 to write upa1475 to story out1570 to story forth1591 story1610 yarn1840 a1475 Bk. Curtasye (Sloane 1986) l. 551 in Babees Bk. (2002) i. 317 Þat þo clerke of kechyn schulde not mys, Þer-fore þo countrollour..Wrytes vp þo somme as euery day, And helpes to count. a1530 (c1425) Andrew of Wyntoun Oryg. Cron. Scotl. (Royal) ix. l. 1177 I wyll noucht wryt wp all, That I hawe sene in my tyme fall. 1535 Bible (Coverdale) Rest of Esther xii. B Mardocheus wrote vp the same matter. 1592 T. Tymme Plaine Discouerie Ten Eng. Lepers G 3 b The Divell that playeth host in this worlde..writeth up all in his booke. 1658 J. Durham Comm. Bk. Revelation iii. 186 As if He had keeped a Diarie of every event, and had written up every word and action of men. 1767 New Mod. Story Teller I. 239 Mr. Heartwell wrote up the whole account of his conduct to the admiralty. 1887 J. Hawthorne Tragic Myst. ii After interviewing the sentry..they departed to write up the tragedy. 1904 W. B. Yeats Let. 17 Dec. (1994) III. 687 Masefield comes over to write up the Theatre & the pictures. 1977 Times Lit. Suppl. 4 Feb. 125/1 Research workers and journalists are increasingly lying their way into hospitals with the intention of writing up their experiences. 2011 Private Eye 4 Mar. 7/3 Giddens visited Libya in the summer of 2006 at the personal invitation of Colonel Gaddafi.., and wrote up their three-hour conversation. b. transitive. To bring (a diary, log, or other written record) up to date. ΘΚΠ society > communication > record > written record > record in writing [verb (transitive)] > bring up to date to write up1736 1736 J. Mair Book-keeping Methodiz'd i. 9 Nor can the Waste-book answer this Design; for being written up in the Time of Business, and commonly too by different Hands; it can neither be fair and uniform, nor very accurate. 1839 H. W. Longfellow Hyperion II. iii. v He..writes up the journal neglected for a week or two. 1848 J. Hannay Biscuits & Grog 19 Now that we..have little to do, suppose we write up our logs? 1903 Indian Law Rep. Madras Ser. 26 3 He wrote up the ledger from the day-book. 1972 E. A. Gray U-Boat War 1914–1918 (1994) ix. 153 Beitzen noted the position of the field on his charts, wrote up the log-book entry, and turned back for home before the weather worsened. 2000 N. Riall Boer War ii. 14/2 It is clear that once mobilisation had begun Malcolm began to take greater care in writing up his diary. c. transitive. To produce a full or formal written version of (notes, minutes, etc.); (more generally) to complete a final or finished version of (a written piece). ΚΠ 1834 H. D. Inglis Ireland in 1834 I. v. 139 I remained for about ten days, writing up my notes, digesting my information, and occasionally enlarging my observations. 1900–1 Proc. Univ. Durham Philos. Soc. 1900–6 2 3 Even the minutes of the Curators cease to be written up. 1998 Textile Horizons July 23/1 Emily..is currently writing up her thesis for her Masters degree. 2004 D. E. Gray Doing Res. in Real World 244 In general, field notes should be written up immediately following the observation. †2. transitive. To enter (a person's name) in a roll or list; to enrol. See also sense 4b. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ society > communication > record > list > [verb (transitive)] > enter in list > enter name or person in list billa1464 to write upa1500 inscribe1607 to string up1854 a1500 (c1425) Andrew of Wyntoun Oryg. Cron. Scotl. (Nero) iv. l. 2543 Til wryte vp ilkan in til rol. a1525 Thre Prestis of Peblis (Asloan) (1920) 18 Thai wryt wp leile and falss..And Dytis þaim vnder a perdoun. 1535 Bible (Coverdale) 1 Macc. x. D There shall xxx. M. also of the Iewes be written vp in the kynges hoost. 1539 Bible (Great) Psalms lxxxvii. 6 The Lorde shall rehearse it, whan he wryteth vp the people. 1666 P. Gordon Diary (1859) 72 Haveing told where wee were to lodge, they..sent a writer to write up our names. 3. transitive. To place (written text) in a prominent and elevated position, typically as a notice or inscription. ΘΚΠ society > communication > writing > [verb (transitive)] > write or place writing in elevated position to write up1535 1535 Bible (Coverdale) Dan. v. E This is the scripture, that is written vp. 1595 W. Shakespeare Henry VI, Pt. 3 i. i. 170 I will..ouer the chaire of state..Wright vp his title. 1688 tr. L. Buglio Aridgm. Life G. Magaillans in tr. G. de Magalhães New Hist. China 350 Elogies and Encomiums upon the Father, written up on white Satin. 1739 J. Bancks Short Crit. Rev. Polit. Life O. Cromwell vi. 140 They..appeared every one with a paper in his hat, with these words written up on it. 1837 C. Dickens Pickwick Papers xxxiv. 374 Not content vith writin' up Pickwick [on the coach-door]. 1837 C. Dickens Pickwick Papers li. 559 I call it a dispensary, and it's alvays writ up so. 1950 Sunday Times 17 Dec. 3/7 The message written up on the wall near to the Boulevard Edgar Quinet. 2015 Daily Tel. (Nexis) 10 Oct. The writers of Seinfeld used to take as their motto the phrase ‘no good deed goes unpunished’, and I wouldn't be surprised to learn that Rendell had that written up above her desk. 4. intransitive. Of an author, esp. of literary works: to adapt one's style in order to attract readers of supposedly more sophisticated taste or literary appreciation, or address a more knowledgeable readership. Often with to indicating the readership. Cf. sense 15d, to write down 4 at Phrasal verbs. ΚΠ 1692 tr. C. de Saint-Évremond Misc. Ess. Pref. sig. A3 His Subjects are often Great and Noble, and then he never fails to write up to them. 1713 H. Felton Diss. Reading Classics 124 It must be our Care to think and write up to the Dignity..of the Things we presume to treat of. 1830 Southern Rev. May 495 It put him above his less-gifted peers—the noble vulgar—and it enabled him to write up or write down, just as the mood prompted. 1921 Sci. Amer. Nov. 20/1 The Editor both ‘writes down’ and ‘writes up’... He may translate the Einstein theories into the nontechnical phrases of everyday life. 1997 D. Conley Daily Miracle x. 181 The aim should be to write ‘up’ rather than ‘down’ to readers. 5. transitive. To praise or promote (someone or something) in writing. Cf. to write down 3b at Phrasal verbs.In later use often difficult to distinguish from sense 1a. ΘΚΠ the mind > attention and judgement > esteem > approval or sanction > commendation or praise > commend or praise [verb (transitive)] > in writing to write up1726 1726 J. Swift Let. 27 Nov. in Corr. (1963) III. 187 However, one thing I was pleased with, that after you had writ me down, you repented, and writ me up. 1824 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. 16 165 She was never written up, to use the modern technical expression, in the Reviews. 1851 T. De Quincey Ld. Carlisle on Pope in Tait's Edinb. Mag. Apr. 235/2 Byron..wished to write up Pope by way of writing down others. 1893 ‘Q’ Delectable Duchy 7 I'll go in presently and write up this place. ?1930 in W. B. Weare Black Business in New South (1973) vi. 164 [The black press] wrote him up [to such an extent that a] young lady from Vicksburg [sent him a letter of proposal]. 1980 Morning Call (Allentown, Pa) 23 Apr. c1/1 He thought it would be automatic. The press wrote him up like he was the next superstar. 6. transitive. To bring (a person, esp. oneself) to a heightened or exalted state or condition by what one writes; spec. to raise or elevate (oneself) in status, reputation, etc., through one's writings. Now rare. ΘΚΠ society > communication > writing > [verb (transitive)] > raise or elevate by writing to write up1733 1733 E. Budgell Bee 2 683 He grew upon his Adversary, and at last wrote himself up to so high an Opinion of his own Importance, that he told the Gentleman, with a modest Disdain, that if he had been bred an Attorney, like himself, he would have been an Attorney still. 1751 W. Warburton in Wks. of Alexander Pope III. 108 Writers..writing themselves up into the same delusion with their Readers. 1832 Bristol Job Nott 3 May 84/2 He out did O'C, with the silken gown, And wrote himself up to a pitch of renown. 1945 Press & Jrnl. (Aberdeen) 28 Aug. 2/3 He may write himself up into a rival of the Babes in the Wood whose perilous adventures have drenched in tears the nurseries of many generations. 7. transitive. Finance. To increase the nominal value of (stock or goods). ΚΠ 1893 Financial Times 25 Jan. 2/5 It was unanimously resolved by the shareholders to adopt the report and accounts. That step involved the extraordinary procedure of writing up the value of the premises in order to meet losses which have been incurred or which are contingent. 1904 Trans. Faculty of Actuaries 2 17 Draw up a schedule showing the amounts that must be added to capital each half-year so as to gradually write up the sum invested to the redemption value. 1992 Economist 2 May (Survey World Banking Suppl.) 30/2 Banks that merge or reorganise can boost their capital by writing up the value of their investments and property virtually tax-free. 2009 N.Y. Times (National ed.) 29 June b2/1 Bank of America and Citigroup..may be able to write up mortgage bonds and other dodgy paper they still hold. 8. transitive. U.S. To report (a person) for some misconduct, misdemeanour, etc. ΘΚΠ society > communication > information > informing on or against > inform on or against [verb (transitive)] > inform of (a fault or crime) delatec1600 to write up1930 1930 Amer. Speech 6 134 Written up, noted in the prison records for some violation of rules. 1932 Saline (Mich.) Observer 30 June 1/5 The traffic officer..wrote him up for a traffic violation. 1990 D. Peterson Dress Gray v. 142 If the CQ chooses to be a hard case, he can write up the cadets in the company for having untidy rooms during the day. Compounds C1. Computing. As a modifier, designating a component, device, etc., used in the process of entering and storing data on a storage medium or in memory; (also) of or relating to this process. Cf. sense 13. ΘΚΠ society > computing and information technology > hardware > secondary storage > [adjective] > involved in writing data write1950 1950 Proc. IRE 38 747/2 During the write operation, the storage surface will be above the cathode potential by an amount equal to the negative peak modulation. 1958 Communications Assoc. Computing Machinery 1 30 In each track, and separated by ·005″ from the associated read head, is the ‘write head’. 1980 C. S. French Computer Sci. xii. 62 Each record is written onto tape in response to a ‘write instruction’. 2004 Chicago Tribune (Midwest ed.) 19 June ii. 3/6 Looking like a thin pack of chewing gum, the device boasts an extremely fast 13 megabytes per second write speed. C2. write-once adj. Computing designating memory or a storage device on which data, once written, cannot be modified; cf. sense 13. ΘΚΠ society > computing and information technology > hardware > [adjective] > types of memory static1947 read-only1961 write-once1967 read-mostly1971 bank-switched1974 1967 Proc. AFIPS Conf. 31 372/2 Photographic media are quite inexpensive, are capable of extremely high bit densities, and exhibit an inherent write-once, read-only storage capability. 1987 I. R. Sinclair Electronics for Electricians & Engineers xiv. 246 The alternative is some form of PROM (programmable read-only memory), a type of write-once read-often chip. 1989 New Scientist 22 July 48/1 The industry now reasons it can produce two types of recordable disc; a relatively cheap version for single recordings, the so-called ‘write-once’ discs or CD-Rs, and another for multiple recordings, the erasable discs or CD-Es. 2017 @ethanschoonover 22 Apr. in twitter.com (accessed 28 Apr. 2020) Imagine you are writing a program but the memory and storage is write-once. Mistakes are persistent. write permit ring n. Brit. /ˌrʌɪt pəˈmɪt rɪŋ/ , U.S. /ˌraɪt pərˈmɪt ˌrɪŋ/ Computing (now chiefly historical) a ring which has to be fitted into a groove in the back of a tape reel before the tape can be written to; cf. sense 13. ΘΚΠ society > computing and information technology > hardware > secondary storage > [noun] > magnetic > tape drive > enabling writing write permit ring1961 1961 R. B. Smith & C. H. Hunter BKS Syst. for Philco-2000 Computer 51/2 Mount blanks on Tα, Tβ, Tγ. This is a System request to have blank tapes with write permit rings mounted on specific tape transports. 1980 S. Hockey Guide Computer Applic. Humanities ii. 27 One way of ensuring that this does not happen is to use..a write permit ring, a plastic ring which can be inserted in the back of a tape reel. 2014 A. Morton Night Shift iii. 19 We then devised a game of quoits, using the four inch (10 centimetres) diameter coloured plastic write permit rings that fitted into the back of mag-tapes. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2021; most recently modified version published online June 2022). < n.1428v.eOE
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