scribo

Latin

Etymology

From Proto-Italic *skreiβō (with scrīptus for *scriptus after scrīpsī), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kreybʰ-. Cognates include Ancient Greek σκάριφος (skáriphos).

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /ˈskriː.boː/, [ˈs̠kriːboː]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈskri.bo/, [ˈskriːbo]

Verb

scrībō (present infinitive scrībere, perfect active scrīpsī, supine scrīptum); third conjugation

1. to write

   Synonym: perscrībō

Conjugation

Conjugation of scrībō (third conjugation)
indicative		singular			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third
active	present	scrībō	scrībis	scrībit	scrībimus	scrībitis	scrībunt
	imperfect	scrībēbam	scrībēbās	scrībēbat	scrībēbāmus	scrībēbātis	scrībēbant
	future	scrībam	scrībēs	scrībet	scrībēmus	scrībētis	scrībent
	perfect	scrīpsī	scrīpsistī	scrīpsit	scrīpsimus	scrīpsistis	scrīpsērunt, scrīpsēre
	pluperfect	scrīpseram	scrīpserās	scrīpserat	scrīpserāmus	scrīpserātis	scrīpserant
	future perfect	scrīpserō	scrīpseris	scrīpserit	scrīpserimus	scrīpseritis	scrīpserint
passive	present	scrībor	scrīberis, scrībere	scrībitur	scrībimur	scrībiminī	scrībuntur
	imperfect	scrībēbar	scrībēbāris, scrībēbāre	scrībēbātur	scrībēbāmur	scrībēbāminī	scrībēbantur
	future	scrībar	scrībēris, scrībēre	scrībētur	scrībēmur	scrībēminī	scrībentur
	perfect	scrīptus + present active indicative of sum
	pluperfect	scrīptus + imperfect active indicative of sum
	future perfect	scrīptus + future active indicative of sum
subjunctive		singular			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third
active	present	scrībam	scrībās	scrībat	scrībāmus	scrībātis	scrībant
	imperfect	scrīberem	scrīberēs	scrīberet	scrīberēmus	scrīberētis	scrīberent
	perfect	scrīpserim	scrīpserīs	scrīpserit	scrīpserīmus	scrīpserītis	scrīpserint
	pluperfect	scrīpsissem	scrīpsissēs	scrīpsisset	scrīpsissēmus	scrīpsissētis	scrīpsissent
passive	present	scrībar	scrībāris, scrībāre	scrībātur	scrībāmur	scrībāminī	scrībantur
	imperfect	scrīberer	scrīberēris, scrīberēre	scrīberētur	scrīberēmur	scrīberēminī	scrīberentur
	perfect	scrīptus + present active subjunctive of sum
	pluperfect	scrīptus + imperfect active subjunctive of sum
imperative		singular			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third
active	present	—	scrībe	—	—	scrībite	—
	future	—	scrībitō	scrībitō	—	scrībitōte	scrībuntō
passive	present	—	scrībere	—	—	scrībiminī	—
	future	—	scrībitor	scrībitor	—	—	scrībuntor
non-finite forms		active			passive
		present	perfect	future	present	perfect	future
infinitives		scrībere	scrīpsisse	scrīptūrum esse	scrībī	scrīptum esse	scrīptum īrī
participles		scrībēns	—	scrīptūrus	—	scrīptus	scrībendus, scrībundus
verbal nouns		gerund				supine
		genitive	dative	accusative	ablative	accusative	ablative
		scrībendī	scrībendō	scrībendum	scrībendō	scrīptum	scrīptū

Derived terms

• adscrībō
• ascrībō
• circumscrībō
• contrāscrībō
• cōnscrībō
• dēscrībō
• dīscrībō
• exscrībō
• interscrībō
• perscrībō
• postscrībō
• praescrībō
• prōscrībō
• rescrībō
• scrīptus
• subscrībō
• superscrībō
• trānscrībō
• īnscrībō

 

Related terms

• scrība
• scrībātus
• scrīnium
• scrīptilis
• scrīptitō
• scrīptiuncula
• scrīptiō
• scrīptiōnālis
• scrīptor
• scrīptula
• scrīptum
• scrīptus
• scrīptōrium
• scrīptōrius
• scrīptūra
• scrīptūriō

 

Descendants

• Balkan Romance:
  • Aromanian: scriu
  • Romanian: scrie
• Dalmatian:
  • scrivru
• Italo-Romance:
  • Corsican: scriva
  • Italian: scrivere
  • Neapolitan: scrivere
  • Sicilian: scrìviri
• Insular Romance:
  • Sardinian: iscri, iscribere, iscriere, iscriri, iscrivere, scriri
• North Italian:
  • Friulian: scrivi
  • Istriot: screîvi, scrèivi
  • Ladin: scriver, scrì
  • Romansch: scriver, screiver
  • Venetian: scrivar, scriver
• Gallo-Romance:
  • Catalan: escriure
  • Franco-Provençal: ecrire
  • Old French: escrivre (see there for further descendants)
  • Gascon: escríber
  • Occitan: escriure
• Ibero-Romance:
  • Aragonese: escriure
  • Old Galician-Portuguese: escrever
    • Portuguese: escrever (see there for further descendants)
• Borrowings:
  • → Proto-Germanic: *skrībaną (see there for further descendants)
  • → Old Irish: scríbaid
    • Irish: scríobh
    • Manx: screeu
    • Scottish Gaelic: sgrìobh

Reflexes of an assumed variant *scrībīre

• Aragonese: escribir, escrebir
• Old Leonese: [Term?]
  • Asturian: escribir, escrebir
  • Extremaduran: escrevil
  • Leonese: escribire
  • Mirandese: screbir
• Old Galician-Portuguese: escrivir
  • Fala: escribil
  • Galician: escribir, escrebir; escrever
• Old Spanish: escrivir
  • Ladino: eskrivir
  • Spanish: escribir, escrebir
    • Papiamentu: skirbi

References

• Buchi, Éva, Schweickard, Wolfgang (2008–) “*/ˈskriβ-e-/”, in Dictionnaire Étymologique Roman, Nancy: Analyse et Traitement Informatique de la Langue Française.

Further reading

• Carl Meißner, Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book‎^[1], London: Macmillan and Co.
  • to write a history: historiam (-as) scribere
    
  • to write poetry: versus facere, scribere
    
  • to write correctly, in faultless style: emendate scribere
    
  • to write good Latin: latine scribere (Opt. Gen. Or. 2. 4)
    
  • to take to writing, become an author: scribere
    
  • to write a book: librum scribere, conscribere
    
  • to write a letter to some one: epistulam (litteras) dare, scribere, mittere ad aliquem
    
  • to separate, be divorced (used of man or woman): repudium dicere or scribere alicui
    
  • to appoint some one as heir in one's will: aliquem heredem testamento scribere, facere
    
  • to make laws (of a legislator): leges scribere, facere, condere, constituere (not dare)
    
  • a legislator: qui leges scribit (not legum lator)
    
  • to levy troops: milites (exercitum) scribere, conscribere
    
  • to levy recruits to fill up the strength: supplementum cogere, scribere, legere
    
  • (ambiguous) we read in history: apud rerum scriptores scriptum videmus, scriptum est
    
  • (ambiguous) I have nothing to write about: non habeo, non est quod scribam
    
  • (ambiguous) to hold by the letter (of the law): verba ac litteras or scriptum (legis) sequi (opp. sententia the spirit)
    
  • (ambiguous) we read in Plato: apud Platonem scriptum videmus, scriptum est or simply est
    
  • (ambiguous) in Plato's 'Phaedo' we read: in Platonis Phaedone scriptum est
    
  • (ambiguous) full of orthographical errors: mendose scriptum
    
  • (ambiguous) the law says..: in lege scriptum est, or simply est
    
• “scribo”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “scribo”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• scribo in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• Sihler, Andrew L. (1995) New Comparative Grammar of Greek and Latin, Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press, →ISBN