α. late Middle English–1600s descrybe, late Middle English– describe.
β. late Middle English–1700s discribe, 1500s–1600s discrybe.
describev.
/dᵻˈskrʌɪb/, U.S. /dəˈskraɪb/, /diˈskraɪb/ I. To portray in words or by visual representation.
1.
a. transitive. Of a person, text, passage, etc.: to use words to convey a mental image or impression of (a person, thing, scene, situation, event, etc.) by referring to characteristic or significant qualities, features, or details; to give an account of or statement about in speech or writing; to portray in words. Also intransitive.Sometimes with clause as object.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > speech > narration > description or act of describing > describe [verb (transitive)]
sayOE
devisec1300
readc1300
to make (a) showing ofc1330
counterfeitc1369
expressc1386
scrievec1390
descrya1400
scrya1400
drawa1413
representc1425
describec1450
report1460
qualify?1465
exhibit1534
perscribe1538
to set out1545
deline1566
delineate1566
decipher1567
denotate1599
lineate16..
denote1612
givea1616
inform?1615
to shape out1633
speaka1637
display1726
to hit off1737
c1450 tr. G. Boccaccio De Claris Mulieribus (1924) l. 982 (MED) Folowynge John Bochas, I haue described thies goddessys notable In lyke orderr as he in Latyne hase.
?a1475 (?a1425) tr. R. Higden Polychron. (Harl. 2261) (1865) I. 27 (MED) Mappa mundi is describede [L. describitur] in the firste boke of this werke.
c1487 J. Skelton tr. Diodorus Siculus Bibliotheca Historica Proh. 8 In conclusion, by experyence of the thynges whiche she descrybeth, hyghly she profyteth in conductynge vs vnto the strayt way of sensyble vnderstondynge.
a1513 H. Bradshaw Lyfe St. Werburge (1521) i. i. sig. a.vv As auncyent Cronycles descryben it full playne.
a1538 T. Starkey Dial. Pole & Lupset (1989) 95 Hys perfayt state..of us before descrybyd.
1634 T. Johnson tr. A. Paré Chirurg. Wks. xxv. xvii. 992 This word Abracadabra, written on a paper, after the manner described by Serenus.
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics iv, in tr. Virgil Wks. 129 Describe we next the Nature of the Bees. View more context for this quotation
1726 J. Swift Gulliver I. ii. viii. 160 Describing the rest of his Household-stuff.
1757 Philos. Trans. 1756 (Royal Soc.) 49 493 This was made for a vessel, such as that described above.
1825 C. Lamb in London Mag. June 218 I am ill at describing female apparel.
1874 J. Morley On Compromise 31 He was described for us..by a master hand.
1897 Athenæum 10 Apr. 468/3 The books, in a word, explain rather than describe.
1930 Oxf. Ann. Girls 115/1 She might describe the scene before her.
1968 Brain 91 819 The author describes how he collected material from four species of whales.
1975 H. Bloom Map of Misreading iii. vii. 139 The passage describes the sudden building, out of the deep, of Pandaemonium, the palace of Satan.
2009 Honolulu Advertiser 14 Feb. (Hawaiʽi section) 1/1 Witnesses described a world devoid of the glamour and glitz of Las Vegas.
b. transitive. With complement, esp. as or (now less commonly) to-infinitive. To represent or portray as having particular qualities, features, etc.; (also) to characterize or define as being a particular type of thing or person.
ΚΠ
c1487 J. Skelton tr. Diodorus Siculus Bibliotheca Historica Proh. 10 For who-so descrybeth the fayttes of the world in maner as of one cyte worthy to be had in remembraunce..he shal doubteles hym-self encharge with a burthen laboryous & moche benefycyal vnto the audytours.
1548 W. Turner Names of Herbes sig. B.vjv The other kynde is described..to haue leaues lyke letties, and thys kynde is called in englishe slauke.
1593 R. Hooker Of Lawes Eccl. Politie i. iii. 52 The institution thereof is described, as being established by solemne iniunction.
1600 E. Blount tr. G. F. di Conestaggio Hist. Uniting Portugall to Castill 314 That the Iland was no lesse fortified then had beene described unto them.
1648 Bp. J. Wilkins Math. Magick i. ix. 56 The Screw, which is described to be a kind of wedge that is multiplyed.
1709 J. Addison Tatler No. 154. ⁋11 Virgil..describes some Spirits as bleaching in the Winds.
1796 J. Farington Diary 19 Jan. (1978) II. 477 Mr. Stodart..was described by Mr. Langham and Mr. Rogers to be a very extraordinary Young Man.
1805 W. Cruise Digest Laws Eng. Real Prop. V. 13 Glanville describes a fine to be an accommodation of a..suit.
1875 B. Jowett in tr. Plato Dialogues (ed. 2) IV. 23 Pleasures as well as opinions may be described as good or bad.
1953 E. Goudge Heart of Family (1954) vii. 117 How did Mr. Eliot describe this house just now? Comfortable-looking.
1973 World Archaeol. 5 41 For a fruit described to have the taste of a peach, Spondias dulcis is the only identification that can be advanced.
2004 Times Lit. Suppl. 17 Dec. 7/1 Ward..begins his critique of fundamentalism by describing himself as a born-again Christian.
c. transitive. Of a word or phrase: to refer to; to denote.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > intelligibility > meaning > meaning of linguistic unit > mean, signify, express [verb (transitive)]
tokenc888
meaneOE
sayOE
bequeathc1175
signifya1382
beara1400
bemeana1400
soundc1400
designc1429
applyc1450
betoken1502
express1526
conveya1568
intend1572
carry1584
denotate1597
pronounce1610
to set out1628
implya1640
speak1645
denote1668
designate1741
describe1808
enunciate1859
read1894
1808 Athenæum Feb. 139 Almanack. Calendar. Ephemeris. All these words describe date-books for the current year.
1889 W. S. Rockstro in G. Grove Dict. Music IV. 117/2 In the Middle Ages, the words ‘Tempus’, ‘Tempo’, ‘Time’ described the proportionate duration of the Breve and Semibreve only.
1939 K. Edwards We dive at Dawn 20 The ‘hot-bunk principle’..is a graphic phrase describing the submarine habit of rolling into the bunk just vacated by the man who has relieved you.
1989 C. Stoll Cuckoo's Egg ii. 10 What word describes someone who breaks into computers?.. On the networks, wizards refer to these hoodlums of our electronic age as ‘crackers’.
2008 N.Y. Times Mag. 20 Apr. 64/2 ‘Ocean acidification’ describes the massive absorption of CO2 that can endanger fish and plant life.
2. † b. transitive. Of an object: to represent (a concept, category, etc.) visually or symbolically; to stand for, signify. Obsolete.
a. transitive. To represent in a painting, drawing, sculpture, etc.; to make a likeness of; (of a picture, etc.) to depict, portray. Also: †to make (a representational picture, image, etc.) (obsolete). Frequently coloured by sense 1. Now somewhat rare.In quot. 1526 figurative: to show clearly and vividly.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > painting and drawing > [verb (transitive)] > represent pictorially
figurec1380
pict1483
picture1490
describe1526
delineate1566
shadow1576
blaze1579
depicturec1593
limn1593
depaint1598
depict1631
depinge1657
picturize1796
feature1807
repicture1810
pictorialize1844
1526 Bible (Tyndale) Gal. iii. 1 To whom Jesus Christ was described before the eyes.
1535 Bible (Coverdale) Ezek. iv. 1 Take a tyle stone..and descrybe vpon it the cite off Ierusalem.
1600 J. Pory tr. J. Leo Africanus Geogr. Hist. Afr. ii. 149 Then describe they certaine signes upon the hands and forehead.
1620 Horæ Subseciuæ 352 A Gladiatore..admirably described in Marble.
1665 T. Herbert Some Years Trav. (new ed.) 362 Accept the preceeding Map... This describing India on the other side Ganges.
1762 H. Walpole Vertue's Anecd. Painting I. vii. 145 A suit of tapestry describing the particulars of each day's engagement.
1774 J. Bryant New Syst. II. 123 We find the Sun to be described under the appearance of a bright star.
1850 Jrnl. Brit. Archæol. Assoc. 5 401 A series of well-executed paintings, describing the adventures of Ulysses.
1888 Brit. Chess Mag. Aug. 362 A picture describing an historic game of Chess..may now be seen at the Italian Exhibition in London.
1913 E. Pound in Poetry Mar. 203 Don't be descriptive; remember that the painter can describe a landscape much better than you can.
2002 Drita (Anglo-Albanian Assoc.) Apr. 10/1 He was particularly talented at describing horses in action. He also painted many historical recreations.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > representation > [verb (transitive)] > of the representation
representc1450
describea1536
adumbrate1537
fashion1590
to figure for1596
depaint1598
maintain1598
depicture1650
depict1871
a1536 W. Tyndale Briefe Declar. Sacraments (?1548) sig. Biii The lambe descrybed the death of Chryst to come.
1643 J. Vicars Looking-glasse for Malignants 13 One of the inhabitants..set upon this [May-pole] the picture of a man in a Tub, thereby (as he said) to describe a Round-head.
1703 Moxon's Mech. Dyalling (ed. 4) in Moxon's Mech. Exercises (new ed.) 317 These twelve Divisions are to describe the twelve Hours of the Day.
1793 J. Smeaton Narr. Edystone Lighthouse (ed. 2) §121 A second model [of the rock] might then be formed, shewing to what the rock was to be reduced;..and so as to describe the external general form.
3.
a. transitive. To write (a person's name) on a list or register; to register, esp. in a census; to enrol. Cf. descrive v. 2a. Obsolete.In quot. 1614: to raise (an army); cf. enrol v. 3.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > record > written record > register or record book > register [verb (transitive)]
book?c1225
descrivec1325
registera1393
rollc1440
describea1475
regestc1475
act1492
enregister1523
registrate1570
to book up1577
matriculate1586
imbook1587
muster1587
immatriculate1602
imbreviate1609
re-register1807
to check in or out1918
a1475 J. Fortescue Governance of Eng. (Laud) (1885) 149 Octavian..commounded all þe world to be discribed as subget vnto hym.
?a1475 (?a1425) tr. R. Higden Polychron. (Harl. 2261) (1872) IV. 265 (MED) A commaundemente was sende from Octouian..that alle þe worlde scholde be describede [L. describeretur].
1535 Bible (Coverdale) 1 Chron. v. C These that are now descrybed by name.
1614 W. Raleigh Hist. World i. iv. v. §6. 259 He was indeede gone into Ægypt..describing a royall Armie.
a1667 Bp. J. Taylor Antiquitates Christianae (1675) 313 His name was described in the book of life.
b. transitive. To write down (a word, piece of text, etc.); to put in writing; to transcribe, copy out. Cf. descrive v. 2b. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > writing > manner of writing > copying or transcribing > copy or transcribe [verb (transitive)]
descrivea1382
copy1387
descrya1400
take1418
describea1513
exemplify1542
transcribe1552
escribe1558
copy1563
transcript1593
exscribe1608
transcrive1665
scriven1742
autograph1829
a1513 H. Bradshaw Lyfe St. Radegunde (c1525) Prol. sig. a.iiii Nowe swete Radegunde,..direct my penne to describe thy stori.
1526 W. Bonde Pylgrimage of Perfection iii. sig. OOOiiv So Peter Bercharius in his dictionary describeth it.
1608 E. Topsell Hist. Serpents 46 Whose verses I will here describe [verses follow].
1649 Bp. J. Taylor Great Exemplar Exhort. §12 Christ our Lawgiver hath described all his Father's will in Sanctions and Signatures of laws.
1769 H. Owen Enq. Present State Septuagint App. 179 To keep close to the orthography of the copies;—to describe the words in their exact form.
III. To mark; to delineate; to trace.† 4. transitive. To mark off and divide in or into parts. Cf. descrive v. 3. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > giving > distributing or dealing out > distribute or deal out [verb (transitive)] > divide into shares > divide and share out
dealc1000
shiftc1000
to-partc1325
partc1330
departa1340
divide1377
portion?a1400
dressc1410
parcel1416
skiftc1420
describe1535
repart1540
sever1548
disparklea1552
enterparten1556
share1577
to share out1583
repartitec1603
dispart1629
parcena1641
cavel1652
partage1660
split1674
snack1675
partition1740
scantle1749
appart1798
whack1819
divvy1877
number1887
cut1928
1535 Bible (Coverdale) Josh. xviii. A Descrybe ye the londe in seuen partes. [So 1611 King James and R.V.; a1382 Wycliffite, E.V. discryue.]
1682 R. Blome tr. N. Sanson New Mapp Amer. in Cosmogr. & Geogr. ii. 423 The surface of the Globe being described [Fr. d'escrite] into two Hemispheres, divided by the first Meridian.
1723 P. Blair Pharmaco-botanologia i. 46 The Alcea is divided into five or seven Segments,..and this last described into three.
5.
a. transitive. Of a person: to mark or trace the shape of (a geometric figure); to delineate.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > painting and drawing > drawing > draw [verb (transitive)]
writeeOE
drawa1398
descrivec1400
describe1538
to draw forth1539
to set out1545
design1570
to draw out1576
detrain1587
lineate16..
linea1616
redraw1728
1538 T. Elyot Dict. Radius,..a rodde or yerde, that Geometricians haue to describe lynes.
1570 H. Billingsley tr. Euclid Elements Geom. i. f. 8 A triangle..set or described vpon a line.
1604 J. Sanford Gods Arrowe of Pestilence 16 Hee can describe Geometricall figures & Diagrammes, by meanes whereof we attaine the knowledge of Sciences.
1670 J. Dryden Tyrannick Love iv. i. 30 With Chalk I first describe a Circle here.
1702 J. Harris New Short Treat. Algebra 48 On..the longest Leg of the Triangle given, describe a Semicircle.
1745 T. Simpson Treat. Algebra xviii. 228 When a Geometrical Problem is proposed, to be resolved by Algebra, you are, in the first Place, to describe a Figure.
1823 Philos. Mag. 62 213 If we describe a circle, to pass through the points ADB, then every point of this circle will describe a straight line passing through the point D.
1880 J. Lowres Art Student's Second Grade Pract. Geom. (new ed.) xii. 72 Having described a circle, draw a diameter parallel to XY.
1926 Black Mask Feb. 69/1 He screwed up his savage red eyes, nodded his head in a satisfied way, and with one finger described a small circle in the air.
1976 D. Pedoe Geom. & Liberal Arts i. 20 Opening your compasses from the gnomon to the point which marks the length of the shadow, describe a circle.
2003 J. Alswang S. Afr. Dict. Sport 105/2 Envelopment, a taking of the blade which, by describing a circle with both blades in contact, returns to the line of engagement.
b. transitive. Of an inanimate thing: to have or take the shape of; to form the outline of.
ΚΠ
1596 W. Lambarde Perambulation of Kent (rev. ed.) 264 It beginneth to diuide it selfe two waies, and to describe the Ile of Thanet.
1757 Misc. Corr. July 587 The Nature of the Curve..the River describes, might be easily found.
1789 tr. J.-F. de Bourgoing Trav. Spain I. 22 That river describes an arch of a circle round Burgos.
1821 W. M. Craig Lect. Drawing i. 7 Representing objects by lines which describe their contours or dimensions.
1865 Once a Week 11 Nov. 585/1 The outer walls describe a circuit of seven acres, enclosing the castle proper.
1904 West Australian (Perth) 19 July 7/1 These inland cliffs describe a gigantic arc of over 200 miles long.
1934 R. Chandler Finger Man 147 Narrow but expensively paved streets wind around in the hills, describing elaborate curves along their flanks.
2007 R. M. Pyle Sky Time in Gray's River 5 The river describes a long S into the west.
6.
a. transitive. Of a physical thing: to form or trace by way of motion; to travel over (a certain course or distance).
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > cause to move in a direction [verb (transitive)] > pass over a certain course or distance
descrivea1398
describea1542
a1542 T. Wyatt Psalmes in R. W. Bailey Early Mod. Eng. (1978) 86/1 And th[e]s bene calld the poles discribid by ste[rr]es not bryght.
1559 W. Cuningham Cosmogr. Glasse 34 The most northely circle which the Sonne describeth.
1656 T. Hobbes Six Lessons iv. 36 in Elements Philos. Two Movents, one uniform, the other uniformly accelerated, make the Body describe a Semiparabolical line.
1713 G. Berkeley Three Dialogues Hylas & Philonous i. 36 A Body that describes a Mile in an Hour.
1764 B. Martin New & Comprehensive Syst. Math. Inst. II. xxix. 524 The Sun having any Declination E G, will, by its Ray G C, describe that Day a Cone A C F.
1869 J. Phillips Vesuvius ix. 264 The stones would describe a parabolic curve rising to one mile and a-half at the vertex.
1869 J. Tyndall Notes 9 Lect. on Light 29 The white-hot particles of carbon in a flame describe lines of light.
1921 Times 3 Jan. 16/4 The Earth and Moon circulate about their common centre of gravity, and this describes the ellipse round the Sun.
1942 R. A. Freeman Jacob St. Myst. vi. 89 They reached a point where the ride described a curve.
b. transitive. Of a geometric entity: to form or trace the extent of (a region, figure, shape, etc.) by continuous displacement along a path. Cf. motion n. 5a.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > number > geometry > shape or figure > manipulate shapes or figures [verb (transitive)] > draw or form boundary of
descrivec1392
describe1559
circumscribe1570
contain1570
inscribe1570
conscribe1704
1559 W. Cuningham Cosmogr. Glasse 55 A lyne, moved..can but describe a plat forme..And a plat forme moved..describeth a Body.
1656 T. Hobbes Six Lessons iii. 26 in Elements Philos. Is the Radius that describes the inner Circles equal to the Radius that describes the exterior?
1742 C. MacLaurin Treat. Fluxions I. viii. 213 The length of the arch Ff and the surface described by this arch revolving about kn are given.
1856 G. R. Perkins Plane & Solid Geom. vii. 176 The semicircle DAE, revolving round its diameter DE, describes the sphere.
1913 W. J. Dobbs School Course in Geom. i. 5 We have seen that a moving point describes a line or curve.
2007 A. Shell-Gelasch & B. Acheson in A. Shell-Gelasch Hands on Hist. 49 A ruled surface is one that can be described by the movement of a straight line.
IV. To catch sight of.
7. transitive. To catch sight of, observe, perceive; = descry v.1 1. Cf. descrive v. 6. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > sight and vision > seeing or looking > see [verb (transitive)] > succeed in seeing or catch sight of
underyetec1000
aspya1250
kenc1275
ofyetec1275
choosea1300
akenc1300
descrivec1300
ofkenc1300
readc1300
espyc1320
descryc1330
spyc1380
discernc1405
discover1553
scan1558
scry1558
decern1559
describe1574
to make out1575
escry1581
interview1587
display1590
to set sight of (in)c1595
sight1602
discreevec1650
glance1656
to catch a glimpse of1679
steal1731
oversee1735
glimpse1779
twig1796
to clap eyes on1838
spot1848
sky1900
1574 B. Rich Right Exelent Dialogue Mercury & Eng. Souldier sig. Hviij Venus was first described, sittynge in her Waggon.
1652 tr. M. de Cervantes Don-Quixote (new ed.) lxiii. 256 Overnight we described [1620 descried] this wharf.
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost iv. 567 I describ'd his way Bent all on speed, and markt his Aerie Gate. View more context for this quotation
1788 E. Gibbon Decline & Fall IV. xlvii. 573 The smallest blemish has not been described by..jealous..eyes.
1936 E. A. Powell Aerial Odyssey ii. 13 It is barely twoscore miles across the Windward Passage, so Cuba was scarcely out of sight before we described the great island which Columbus named Española.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2015; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
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