English
writing
Writing comes from Old English wrīting, from wrītan ‘to write’, from Proto-Germanic *wrītaną ‘to scratch, carve’.
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*wrītaną‘to scratch’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*wrītan‘to scratch’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150wrītan‘to write’
- Old English, derivedc. 450–1150wrīting
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500writing
- Englishearliest quotation 2003same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*wrītaną‘to scratch’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*wrītan‘to scratch’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150wrītan‘to write’
- Old English, derivedc. 450–1150wrīting
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500writing
- Englishearliest quotation 2003same form
Earliest quotation: 2003, William G. Boltz, The Origin and the Development of the Chinese Writing System: “Because writing of any kind is no more and…”
Formed from write + -ing
Proto-Indo-European *wrey- ‘to rip’
Proto-Germanic *wrītaną ‘to carve’
Proto-West Germanic *wrītan ‘to scratch’
Old English wrītan ‘to write’
Middle English writen ‘to write’
English write
Linked words
through Proto-West Germanic *wrītan ‘to scratch, carve’
through Old English wrītan ‘to write’
Today it means
noun Graphism of symbols such as letters that express some meaning.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Germanic *wrītaną / writing