inscribe

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin īnscrībō, from in- (“upon”) and scrībō (“to write”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɪnˈskɹaɪb/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aɪb

Verb

inscribe (third-person singular simple present inscribes, present participle inscribing, simple past and past participle inscribed)

1. (transitive) To write or cut (words) onto (something, especially a hard surface, or a book to be given to another person); to engrave.

   I inscribed the book with a message for Kate.

   I inscribed my name into the book.

   • 2000 June 17, Elizabeth A. Johnson, “Mary of Nazareth: Friend of God and Prophet”, in America‎^[1], volume 182, number 21:

     This coheres with the pattern of Scripture, which inscribes her story among that of others in the company of Jesus.

2. (transitive) To dedicate to someone.
3. (transitive) To enter on a document or list; to enroll.
4. (geometry) To draw a circle, sphere, etc. inside a polygon, polyhedron, etc. and tangent to all its sides.

   Antonym: (rare) escribe

Synonyms

• enwrite, inwrite

Related terms

• inscription
• circumscribe

Translations

to write or cut words onto something

• Bulgarian: надписвам (bg) (nadpisvam)
• Catalan: inscriure (ca)
• Finnish: kaivertaa (fi)
• French: graver (fr)
• German: beschriften (de)
• Greek: επιγράφω (el) (epigráfo)
• Old Turkic: 𐰋𐰃𐱅𐰃 (biti-)
• Romanian: inscripționa, înscrie (ro), grava (ro)
• Russian: начертать (ru) (načertatʹ)
• Spanish: inscribir (es)
• Turkish: yazmak (tr), kazımak (tr), kakmak (tr)
• Welsh: llythrennu (cy)

to draw a circle, sphere

• Bulgarian: вписвам (bg) (vpisvam)
• Catalan: inscriure (ca)
• Czech: vepsat
• Greek: εγγράφω (el) (engráfo)
• Romanian: înscrie (ro)
• Russian: впи́сывать (ru) impf (vpísyvatʹ), вписа́ть (ru) pf (vpisátʹ)

Latin

Verb

īnscrībe

1. second-person singular present active imperative of īnscrībō

Spanish

Verb

inscribe

1. inflection of inscribir:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative