describe
Definition from Wiktionary, a free dictionary
Contents |
[edit] English
[edit] Etymology
From Middle English descriven < Old French descrivre < Latin dēscrībō (“‘I copy off, transcribe, sketch off, describe in painting or writing’”) < de (“‘off’”) + scribere (“‘to write’”); see scribe and shrive.
[edit] Pronunciation
- (UK) IPA: /dəˈskɹaɪb/, /dɪsˈkɹaɪb/, SAMPA: /d@"skraIb/, /dIs"kraIb/
- Audio (US)help, file
- Rhymes: -aɪb
[edit] Verb
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Infinitive |
Third person singular |
Simple past |
Past participle |
Present participle |
to describe (third-person singular simple present describes, present participle describing, simple past and past participle described)
- (transitive) To represent in words.
- The feeling is difficult to describe, but not unpleasant.
- (transitive) (mathematics) To give rise to a geometrical structure.
- The function describes a very complex surface.
[edit] Related terms
[edit] Translations
to represent in words
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to give rise to a geometrical structure
- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.
Translations to be checked
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[edit] External links
- describe in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
- describe in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911
[edit] Spanish
[edit] Verb
describe (infinitive: describir)
- Third-person singular (él, ella, also used with usted?) present indicative form of describir.
- informal second-person singular (tú) affirmative imperative form of describir.
Categories: Middle English derivations | Old French derivations | Latin derivations | English verbs | Mathematics | Spanish forms of verbs ending in -ir | Spanish verb indicative forms | Spanish verb singular forms | Spanish verb third-person forms | Spanish verb present forms | Spanish verb imperative forms | Spanish verb second-person forms | Spanish verb affirmative forms | Spanish verb informal forms
