verbatim

Etymology

It is borrowed from Medieval Latin verbātim (“word for word”),^[2][3][4][5] recorded in post-classical Latin from the 8th century,^[2] formed from Latin verbum (“word”) and the adverb suffix -ātim.^[2][6][7] It is thus related to verb and word,^[5][8] and formed like literatim and seriatim.^[9][4][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Word for word, of a copy, a report or a quotation: about 1503 in the OED.^[2] Barnhart dates it to 1481,^[4] and Dictionary.com to 1475–85.^[6]

Semantic evolution

Soon after the first use for exact copies and quotations the adverb was applied to translations (1563), and in verbatim et literatim, word for word and letter for letter, it stressed complete exactness (1642).^[2] A sense "in so many words, exactly" (1566–1683) and Shakespeare's "by word of mouth" have died out.^[2] Johnson (1755) defined it simply as "word for word", quoting the second of these.^[10] The adjective, following the original word for word, is dated 1651 by the OED, 1613 by Merriam-Webster and 1737 by Barnhart;^[2][8][4] from 1831 it also described a reporter able to take down speech word for word, usually in shorthand.^[2][8] The noun, a word-for-word report, is recorded from 1658 in the OED but only from 1898 in Merriam-Webster.^[2][8] From 1880 the adverb was also used of faithful copies of paintings or music.^[2][8]

Timeline

• c. 1503 – adverb, word for word.^[2] Barnhart dates the adverb to 1481.^[4]
• 1563 – of a translation.^[2]
• 1642 – verbatim et literatim.^[2]
• 1651 – adjective, word for word.^[2]
• 1658 – noun, a word-for-word report.^[2]
• 1831 – of a reporter, taking down speech word for word.^[2]
• 1880 – of a copy of a painting or piece of music.^[2]

Meanings

Adverb

1. In exactly the same words; word for word: The clerk read the letter out verbatim.^[11][8][2]
2. Note for note, or in every detail, as of music or a painting.^[8][2]

Adjective

1. Following the original word for word: a verbatim transcript of the hearing.^[11][8][2]
2. Of a reporter, skilled in taking down speech word for word.^[8][2]

Noun

1. A word-for-word report or translation.^[8][2]

Word family

• verbatim et literatim

Related words

• gradatim
• literatim
• seriatim
• verb
• verbal
• word

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
4. ^ a b c d e Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
5. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
6. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
7. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
9. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
10. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
11. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins