script English · revision 5719

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1374|origins=la scriptum}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /skrɪpt/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is an alteration, under the influence of Latin, of earlier scrite (before 1300),^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) [[bor|fro|escrit|t=a writing, a written paper]] (also Anglo-French scrit; modern French écrit),^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) from [[la|scrīptum|t=a writing, a book]], the neuter past participle of [[m|la|scrībere|t=to write]] (see [[scribe]]),^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) from PIE [[ine-pro|*skribh-|t=to cut, separate]].^(Etymonline) Etymonline notes that the original notion is of carving marks in stone or wood, and that the Celtic and Germanic words for writing (German schreiben, Irish scríobhaim) also come from scribere.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A piece of writing, a text: about 1374 in the OED, about 1385 in Barnhart, in Chaucer's ''Troilus and Criseyde''.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In law, the original document of which there are copies is from 1856.^(OED 1989) A typeface made to look like handwriting is from 1838,^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) handwriting as distinct from print from 1860,^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988) and a writing system from 1883.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) In the theatre, script as a short form of [[manuscript]], the text of a play, is from 1884 in Etymonline, 1897 in the OED;^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) the text of a film or broadcast is from 1931.^(OED 1989) The verb, to write a script or adapt a work for film or broadcasting, is from 1935,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) and in figurative use, following a set plan, by 1977.^(Etymonline) In social psychology, a script is the behaviour expected in a situation (1968), and in slang it is short for a prescription (1951).^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1374 – a piece of writing.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1838 – a script typeface.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1860 – handwriting.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1883 – a writing system.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1884 – the script of a play.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1935 – the verb.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1951 – a prescription (slang).^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The written text of a [[play]], [[film]] or broadcast.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # [[handwriting|alt=Handwriting]], or a style of writing; a typeface imitating it.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A writing system: ''Cyrillic script''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(computing)'' A short program run by another program.^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(British)'' A candidate's written answers in an examination.^(Hoad 1986)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To write the script for a film or broadcast.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To plan or control events or behaviour in detail.^(AHD)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[scripter]]

+ * [[scriptorium]]

+ * [[scriptwriter]]

+ * [[script doctor]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[scripture]]

+ * [[scribe]]

+ * [[manuscript]]

+ * [[describe]]

+ * [[prescription]]

+ * [[shrive]]

+ * [[conscript]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}