English
scriptural
Scriptural comes from Latin scrīptūra ‘a writing, something written’, from scrībō ‘to write’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kréybʰeti.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)kréybʰetireconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*skreiβō‘to carve’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEscrībō‘to write’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEscrīptūra‘a writing, something written’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500scripture
- English1500–presentsame form
- Englishearliest quotation 2025scriptural
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)kréybʰetireconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*skreiβō‘to carve’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEscrībō‘to write’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEscrīptūra‘a writing, something written’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500scripture
- English1500–presentsame form
- Englishearliest quotation 2025scriptural
Earliest quotation: 2025, James Orr, JD Vance States the Obvious About Ordo Amoris: “When explicated in Augustine’s On Christian Teaching or in…”
A compound of *(s)ker- ‘to cut off, sever’ + *(s)kreybʰ- ‘to scratch, to tear’
Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- ‘to cut off, sever’
Proto-Indo-European *(s)kreybʰ- ‘to scratch, to tear’
Linked words
through Proto-Italic *skreiβō ‘to carve’
transcription, shriver, ascribe, transcribe, inscribe, 28 more
through Latin scrībō ‘to write’
description, prescription, prescribe, inscription, transcript, scribe, conscription, scribble, shrift, nondescript, scrivener, conscript, descript, 31 more
Today it means
adj Of, relating to, or in accordance with scripture.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *(s)kréybʰeti / scriptural