scriptural

Etymology

It is borrowed from Late Latin scripturalis (“of or from Holy Scripture”),^[2][3][4][5] recorded from the 5th century,^[2] formed from scrīptūra (“a writing”) and the suffix -ālis.^[2][3] Etymonline calls the Latin adjective Modern Latin,^[6] and Merriam-Webster Unabridged analyses the English word as formed from the noun with -al.^[7] The Latin noun, the source of scripture, comes from scrīptus, the past participle of scrībō (“to write”), from Proto-Indo-European *skribh- (“to cut”).^[6] In British Latin sources the adjective was also used for writing from the 13th century, and for "written" in the 14th.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Of, relating to, or in accordance with the Bible: 1578, in G. Martin's Treatise of Schism.^[2] This date comes from the OED's revision of 2018;^[2] Merriam-Webster Unabridged gives 1641 as its first known use,^[7] Etymonline the 1640s,^[6] and Dictionary.com 1635–45.^[5]

Semantic evolution

Johnson (1755) defined it as contained in the Bible, or biblical, quoting Atterbury on "the scriptural use" of a word.^[8] The OED's definition covers the Bible or another sacred text,^[2] and Merriam-Webster Unabridged applies it to any sacred writing.^[7] In the 19th century Bentham (1827) and Disraeli tried to use it for "of or relating to writing",^[2][6] a sense now rare.^[2][4]

Timeline

• 1578 – of, based on, or in accordance with the Bible.^[2] Merriam-Webster Unabridged dates it to 1641.^[7]
• 1827 – of or relating to writing; expressed in writing (now rare).^[2][6]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Of, relating to, contained in, or in accordance with a sacred writing, especially the Bible; biblical: The preacher offered scriptural support for his argument.^[7][9][2]
2. (rare) Of or relating to writing.^[7][9][2][4]

Word family

• scripturally
• scripturalness
• unscriptural
• scripturalism

Related words

• scripture
• script
• scribe

Usage notes

It is sometimes capitalized.^[7][9] Etymonline quotes a description of the word as "Less specific than Biblical, and more commonly without a capital."^[6]

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
4. ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
6. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
7. ^ a b c d e f g Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
8. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
9. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins