English Online Dictionary. What means describe? What does describe mean?
English
Etymology
From Middle English descriven, from Old French descrivre, from Latin dēscrībō (“I copy off, transcribe, sketch off, describe in painting or writing”), from dē (“off”) + scrībō (“write”); see scribe and shrive. Displaced native Old English āmearcian.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /dɪˈskɹaɪb/, /dəˈskɹaɪb/
- Rhymes: -aɪb
- Hyphenation: de‧scribe
Verb
describe (third-person singular simple present describes, present participle describing, simple past and past participle described)
- (transitive) To represent in words.
- (transitive) To represent by drawing; to draw a plan of; to delineate; to trace or mark out.
- (transitive, mathematics) To give rise to a geometrical structure.
- (transitive, taxonomy) To introduce a new taxon to science by explaining its characteristics and particularly how it differs from other taxa.
- (obsolete) To distribute into parts, groups, or classes; to mark off; to class.
Synonyms
- (to represent in words): portray, betell, depict, report; see also Thesaurus:describe
- (to represent in writing): bewrite
Derived terms
Related terms
- describable
- description
- descriptive
- descriptivism
- descriptivist
- descriptor
- scribe
Translations
Further reading
- “describe”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
- “describe”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
Anagrams
- escribed
Galician
Verb
describe
- inflection of describir:
- third-person singular present indicative
- second-person singular imperative
Latin
Verb
dēscrībe
- second-person singular present active imperative of dēscrībō
Scots
Etymology
From English describe.
Verb
describe (third-person singular simple present describes, present participle describin, simple past describit, past participle describit)
- to describe
Spanish
Verb
describe
- inflection of describir:
- third-person singular present indicative
- second-person singular imperative