scribe

Pronunciation

• IPA: /skɹaɪb/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English scribe,^[2] borrowed from Latin scrība (“official writer, secretary, keeper of accounts”),^{[3][4][5][6][7]} partly through Old French scribe,^[3][2] from scrībere “to write”.^[3][4][5][6] The Latin verb goes back to a root meaning “to cut, scratch, incise”, and is akin to Greek σκαριφᾶσθαι (skariphasthai) “to scratch an outline”.^[5][6][8] In Church Latin scrība was used in the Vulgate to render Greek γραμματεύς (grammateús), corresponding to Hebrew סֹפֵר (sōphēr) “writer, scholar”.^[4][5]

The carpentry verb, “to mark with a pointed tool” (1678), is of uncertain origin, probably a shortening of describe.^[4][5][6][8]

Earliest recorded meaning

A professional interpreter of the Jewish Law, as in the phrase “scribes and Pharisees” (late 12th century in Etymonline; probably about 1200 in Barnhart; 1377 in the OED).^[5][4][9][2]

Semantic evolution

From the biblical sense the word widened to any public official concerned with writing or keeping records, a secretary or clerk (late 14th century).^[5][4][9][8] The sense “copyist of manuscripts” dates from 1535,^[4][5][9] and from the 1580s it was used loosely of any author or writer,^[5][9] today often humorously of a journalist.^[3][6][7] A separate technical verb scribe, “to mark wood or metal with a pointed instrument”, arose in carpentry in the 17th century, and the tool for this is also called a scribe (1812).^[9][6][4]

Timeline

• late 12th century – a teacher of the Jewish Law.^[5]
• before 1382 – a secretary or clerk.^[4][9]
• 1467–68 – verb, to write.^[4]
• 1535 – a copyist of manuscripts.^[4][9]
• 1580s – a writer, an author.^[5]
• 1678 – verb, to mark with a pointed instrument.^[9][6][4]
• 1812 – a tool for scribing.^[9][6]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A professional copyist of manuscripts and documents, especially before the invention of printing.
2. A public clerk or secretary, especially in ancient times.
3. (Judaism) One of the scholars and teachers who copied, edited and interpreted the Jewish Scriptures and law.
4. A writer or author, especially a journalist.
5. A pointed tool for marking wood or metal; a scriber.

Verb

1. To mark or score wood, metal or stone with a pointed instrument, as a guide for cutting or fitting.
2. To work as a scribe; to write.

Word family

• scribal

Related words

• ascribe
• circumscribe
• describe
• inscribe
• prescribe
• proscribe
• shrive
• transcribe
• script
• conscribe
• subscribe
• superscribe
• scribble
• scripture
• scrivener

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
3. ^ a b c d The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
6. ^ a b c d e f g h Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
7. ^ a b Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
8. ^ a b c Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
9. ^ a b c d e f g h i Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press