written

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈrɪt.ən/^[1]

Etymology

It is the past-participle adjective of write,^[2][3] inherited from Middle English writen, also written,^[4] inherited from Old English gewriten, the past participle of wrītan (“to score, carve; to write”).^[4][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Composed, recorded or preserved in writing: about 1300^[2] or before 1300, when it was also used of laws established by writing.^[6]

Semantic evolution

“Inscribed or carved upon” is from about 1440,^[6][7] and “covered with writing” from 1580.^[6] “Formed with the pen”, of letters, is from 1582^[6] or the 1580s.^[2] The obsolete written hand was a cursive hand, from 1531.^[6] With adverbs, “written about, written down, written up”, it is from 1754,^[6] and a writer who is written out has exhausted his creative powers, from about 1911.^[6] “Expressed in literary form” is from 1909.^[6][7] Collins contrasts the written word with spoken language.^[8]

Timeline

• before 1300 – composed or recorded in writing.^[6]
• c. 1440 – inscribed, carved.^[6][7]
• 1531 – written hand, cursive.^[6]
• 1582 – formed with the pen.^[6]
• 1754 – written down, written up.^[6]
• 1909 – in literary form.^[6]

Modern meaning

Adjective

1. Set down in writing rather than spoken: written evidence.
2. Of law, set down in documents or codes.
3. Covered with writing or inscribed.

Verb

1. The past participle of write.

Word family

• ghostwritten
• typewritten

Related words

• write
• writ
• writer
• unwritten

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
4. ^ a b Gove, Philip Babcock, ed. (1961), Webster's Third New International Dictionary of the English Language, Unabridged, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam
5. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b c Kay, Christian; Roberts, Jane; Samuels, Michael; Wotherspoon, Irené, eds. (2009), Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford: Oxford University Press; online edition (2024)
8. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins