Write keeps a w that stopped being pronounced around 1600, like wrist, wrap and wring — the letters record a real Old English cluster rather than a scholar's opinion about Latin. But the better story here is the meaning.
Old English writan meant "to score, to outline, to draw the figure of," from a Germanic root meaning "to tear, to scratch." German reißen still means to tear or to sketch. Writing was originally scratching, because that is what you do to a wax tablet or a piece of wood. And English is not alone: according to one survey, words for "write" in most Indo-European languages originally mean carve, scratch or cut — Latin scribere, Greek graphein and glyphein, Sanskrit rikh-. Every literate tradition names writing after the physical act that preceded it.
write (v.) Old English writan "to score, outline, draw the figure of," later "to set down in writing, be acquainted with the craft of letters, set forth as an author" (class I strong verb; past tense wrat , past participle writen ). This is from Proto-Germanic *writan "tear, scratch," which also is the source of Old Frisian writa "to write," Old Saxon writan "to tear, scratch, write," Old Norse rita "write, scratch, outline," Old High German rizan "to write, scratch, tear," German reißen "to tear, pull, tug, sketch, draw, design"). Outside connections are doubtful. According to Buck, words for "write" in most Indo-European languages originally mean "carve, scratch, cut" (such as Latin scribere , Greek graphein , glyphein , Sanskrit rikh- ); a few originally meant "paint" (Gothic meljan , Old Church Slavonic pisati , and most of the modern Slavic cognates). In English, the meaning "exchange letters" is by mid-14c.; that of "communicate in writing" is by c. 1400. To be writ large (1640s) is literally to be formed in large, prominent letters, but the use is chiefly figurative. To write over is by 1580s as "write anew or again," by 1828 as "cover (a surface) with writing." For men use to write an evill turne in marble stone, but a good turne in the dust. [More, 1513] On the dismissive side, writerling "petty, sorry, or inferior writer" is by 1802; writation "poor or insipid writing" by 1778; writative "disposed or addicted to writing" by 1736.
write came in through Old English, and its spelling follows that family's conventions.
How that family writes these sounds
| /r/ at the start | wr-write, wrist |
Old English in the spelling guide · guess another word's family