description

English

Wikipedia

Etymology

From Latin descriptio.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA: /dɪˈskɹɪpʃən/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Noun

description (plural descriptions)

1. A sketch or account of anything in words; a portraiture or representation in language; an enumeration of the essential qualities of a thing or species.
2. The act of describing; a delineation by marks or signs.
3. A set of characteristics by which someone or something can be recognized.
4. (biology) A scientific documentation of a specimen intended to reveal a new species by technically explaining its characteristics and particularly how it differs from other species.

   The type description of the fungus was written by a botanist.

Synonyms

• (characteristics): sort, kind, type, variety

Translations

account in words

• Arabic: وصف (ar) (waṣf) m
• Bulgarian: описание (bg) n (opisanie)
• Catalan: descripció (ca) f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 描寫 (cmn), 描写 (cmn) (miáoxiě), 描述 (cmn) (miáoshù)

• Czech: popis (cs) m
• Danish: beskrivelse (da)
• Dutch: beschrijving (nl) f
• Esperanto: priskribo (eo)
• Estonian: kirjeldus (1), kirjeldamine (2)
• Finnish: kuvaus (fi), selitys (fi)
• French: description (fr) f
• German: Beschreibung (de) f
• Greek: περιγραφή (el) f (perigrafí)
• Hebrew: תיאור (he) (ti'ur) m
• Hungarian: leírás (hu)
• Indonesian: deskripsi (id)

• Italian: descrizione (it) f
• Japanese: 記述 (ja) (きじゅつ, kijutsu), 説明 (ja) (せつめい, setsumei), 描写 (ja) (びょうしゃ, byōsha)
• Korean: 묘사 (ko) (myosa), 기술 (ko) (gisul), 서술 (ko) (seosul), 설명 (ko) (seolmyeong), 기재 (ko) (gijae)
• Lithuanian: aprašymas (1), apibūdinimas (2)
• Lojban: ve skicu
• Persian: توصیف (fa)
• Portuguese: descrição (pt) f
• Romanian: descripție (ro)
• Russian: описание (ru) (opisánije) n 
• Scots: descreeption
• Scottish Gaelic: tuairisgeul (gd) m
• Spanish: descripción (es) f
• Swedish: beskrivning (sv) c
• Telugu: వర్ణన (varNana)
• Turkish: tanım (tr), tavsif (tr)

characteristics

• Bulgarian: описание (bg) n (opisanie)
• French: signalement (fr)
• Hungarian: leírás (hu), személyleírás (hu)
• Irish: comharthaí (ga) m pl, comharthaí aithne (ga) m pl, comharthaí sóirt (ga) m pl

• Scottish Gaelic: tuairisgeul (gd) m
• Spanish: señalamiento (es)
• Swedish: signalement (sv)
• Turkish: vasif (tr)

See also

• synopsis
• interpretation

Related terms

• describe
• descriptive

External links

• description in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
• description in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911

Anagrams

• discerption, predictions

French

Noun

description f

1. description