The word write in latin

Latin is rarely taught these days in the United States. It might be because for a long time learning Latin was maybe the most boring subject.

Today, with so few schools and universities teaching Latin as part of their regular curriculum, you will probably have to teach yourself if you want to learn the language of Cicero. You might wonder why you should study Latin.

To start with, 30% of all English words come directly from Latin, so knowing the origin of the word in Latin will probably help you improve your English orthography.

Latin is an extinct language which only remained the official language of the Vatican and the Catholic Church, but many European languages and dialects take their origin in Latin, and studying it will probably help you learn French or Spanish.

Find some Latin courses that can help your learning of Latin here.

Today the best way to learn Latin is to learn it like a modern language. Learning Latin is also learning about antic mythology and famous Roman philosophers and writers. So we will be giving you a few tips and advice to learn Latin and progress quickly. Here are Latin courses online that you can take!

How Can You go About Learning to Write in Latin?

Learning Latin today is not all about reciting declensions by heart. Knowing grammar rules and memorising a decent amount of vocabulary will definitely be a conditions to progress quickly and steadily through your apprenticeship of Latin. The good thing is that you won’t have to learn a whole new set of characters as the Latin alphabet is the same as the English one.

The long list of words and Latin expression that teachers used to give to their students to memorize have been replaced by a more comprehensive way to learn Latin. Through conversation and listening, many modern methods will teach you how to speak, read and write Latin without boring you to death. You will probably need a couple of books depending on the method you prefer but one of the ultimate tools that will help you through your study will the Collins Latin dictionary.

The best way to learn new vocabulary will be to write down the words you do not know in a notebook and look for the translation yourself. The dictionary will also have the words declensions and tonic accents to help you learn the right pronunciation.

Understand the Evolution of Latin Words

Learning Latin will be easier if you already have studied French (one of many Romance languages) like many British students do. Linguists say that 90% of all French nouns, verbs and adjective come directly from Latin. Turkish, Icelandic or even Bosnian are other languages that have been influenced by Latin!

Latin may be more than 2500 years old and may have stopped evolving a long time ago, it remains important to understand that this language, which at one point was spoken throughout Europe and across the Mediterranean coast, was once a thriving language.

Like English still does today, Latin changed with time. The classical Latin that we study today is far from the popular Latin spoken by Romans in England until the 5th century.

Just like English, Roman used tonic accents when speaking. It means that Latin words are emphasized on a certain syllable. In Latin, the accent will depend on the length of the word. In dictionaries such as the Cambridge Latin dictionary, the accent is indicated by an apostrophe before the syllable to emphasis:

• For two-syllable words, the emphasis will be on the first one: ‘rosa, ‘cogo, ‘Roma.
• For words with more than two syllable, the emphasis will be on the penultimate (the one before the last) syllable for a long syllable (co’rona) or the antepenultimate (the one before the one before the last) for a short syllable (ho’minibus).

Depending on the accent, a Latin word gave one or more English words:

• nova: new (novice, novel)
• longa: long (longitude, longevity)
• habere: have (habit, habitual)
• lingua: language (lingual, linguistics)
• mea: me or my
• pictura: picture (picturesque, pictorial)

The mix of German and Latin languages influence the English language went through has given us many examples of both origins being mixed. Discover more Latin words and phrases we use in everyday English…

More about the history of Latin

Germanic/Latinate doublets from the Norman period, using Latinate words in the sciences gave us pairs with a native Germanic noun and a Latinate adjective.

Because of the collapse of the Roman Empire, Latin progressively stopped being used by the people of the British Isles and the lingua Latina was completely replaced by Old English during the 6th century. Only churches and learning institutions were still using Latin as their main language.

Because Old English was influenced by Latin and the Proto-Germanic languages brought by the successive Saxon, Angle, Norse and Dane invaders, many of the Latin words that were later included in Great Britain’s lingua franca (common language) remain close to their original version. Rather than evolving and changing throughout time, these words were borrowed from Latin and included in the Old English tongue.

French on the other end saw the native language of Gaul widely replaced by the tongue of the Roman invaders and Latin was completely assimilated by the Gallo-Roman (the mixed population of Gauls and Romans). This romanization led to Latin words evolving much more in French than they did in English.

Two different words, with the same meaning, are often found in the French language. That is where it gets complicated. England was ruled by Anglo-Normans for more than 300 years since William the Conqueror left his home of Normandy in France to become King of England.

While the nobility only spoke Norman at the court (an old version of French), they did nothing to change the language of the common people, the Old English. The exchange between both languages continuously occurred through medieval times and French words that have evolved from Latin got incorporated into the English tongue. The modern English we speak today date from the 15th century.

One major English writer is said to have started a movement that would favour the use of Middle and then pre-Modern English.This portrait of Geoffrey Chaucer is an extract from «Pictures from English Literature». Many consider the author as the Father of English Literature (by The British Library).

Geoffrey Chaucer is considered by many the father of English literature and was the first one to popularise the use of the common English vernacular when writing novels and poetry. His influence at the court and on the English bureaucracy establishment help the development of Standard English. It is because of him that the dominant literary language shifted from Latin and French to the Middle English common language. Would you like to learn to speak Latin?

Bring Latin Back To Life

One of the best ways to learn Latin is to consider it as a modern, living language. New Latin teaching methods tend to include this new philosophy and often include both writing and speaking exercises.

The main goal of these methods is to get used to writing and speaking Latin and to memorise Latin grammar rules and vocabulary while practising rather than just learning long lists of words and their declensions.

Having discussions in the Latin language will significantly help the students to improve quickly on their pronunciation and memorisation of new words should become natural.

Translating Latin texts into English and vice versa is also a great way to improve. More than just a translating exercise, it is a real game of logic, where words should be placed back at the right place in the sentence. But if you know your declension you will do great.

When translating a modern language it is often recommended to think in the target language. But because Latin is an extinct language that might prove a bit tricky and somehow counterproductive. Only the Vatican and the Roman Catholic Church still recognise the lingua Latina as their official language.

Learning how to translate will require you to learn the Latin grammar rules, including the declensions. It will also be impossible for you to translate any text without knowing a minimum of vocabulary. It is usually recommended to start with Latin to English translations, less complicated, this exercise will allow you to understand and learn words and to assimilate the proper use of the Latin declensions.

On the other hand, reading Latin texts will also increase your knowledge of the culture of Rome and teach you much about antiquity. The Roman Empire was once the most powerful in the world and it is not that much of a surprise that many European languages draw many of their nouns, adjective and verbs from Latin which was the lingua franca for centuries. According to linguists and historians, some languages such as Albanian, Bosnian and even Icelandic were somehow influenced by Latin.

Learning Latin will also help you in your science, law or medicine studies. 90% of all science-related words in English come from Latin! Learning Latin online is also possible and a lot of forums and websites such as Latinum will offer a lot of resources to help you progress.

What Is Different Between a Latin Sentence and an English Sentence?

In English, the standard order of words will be Subject, Verb and Object (or SVO). While writing in Latin, the order of the words will have a lot less importance. The declension of the words will give you the Subject, the Verb and The Object.

That is why the same sentence can be written in many different ways in Latin. While the sentence «The legate sent the servant» can only be written this way in English to keep its meaning, in Latin, it can be written five different ways:

• Servum mittit legatus,
• Mittit legatus servum,
• Legatus servum mittit,
• Servum legatus mittit,
• Mittit servum legatus.

To avoid any confusion on who send who you will have to learn your declension and know them well. Once you have mastered them, Latin will be a piece of cake. Just check which of the seven declensions (nominative, vocative, accusative, genitive, dative, ablative and locative) the word uses and you will know if it is a subject, a verb or an object.

While using a Latin English dictionary will come in handy when you are absolutely stuck on the meaning of a word, it will be very fastidious to do the same for the declensions. So start crafting some flashcards and you will be guaranteed to be a fluent Latin speaker in no time! Now discover the best ways of learning how to write in Latin…

English[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Middle English writen, from Old English wrītan, from Proto-West Germanic *wrītan, from Proto-Germanic *wrītaną (“to carve, write”), from Proto-Indo-European *wrey- (“to rip, tear”). Cognate with West Frisian write (“to wear by rubbing, rip, tear”), Dutch wrijten (“to argue, quarrel”), Middle Low German wrîten (“to scratch, draw, write”) (> Low German wrieten, rieten (“to tear, split”)), German reißen (“to tear, rip”), Norwegian rita (“to rough-sketch, carve, write”), Swedish rita (“to draw, design, delineate, model”), Icelandic rita (“to cut, scratch, write”), German ritzen (“to carve, scratch”), Proto-Slavic *ryti (“to carve, engrave, dig”), Polish ryć (“to engrave, dig”), Czech rýt (“to engrave, dig”). See also rit and rat.

Pronunciation[edit]

• (UK, US) enPR: rīt, IPA^(key): /ɹaɪt/
• Rhymes: -aɪt
• Homophones: right, rite, wright

Verb[edit]

write (third-person singular simple present writes, present participle writing, simple past wrote or (archaic) writ, past participle written or (archaic) writ or (obsolete) ywriten)

1. (transitive, intransitive) To form letters, words or symbols on a surface in order to communicate.

   The pupil wrote his name on the paper.

   Your son has been writing on the wall.

2. (transitive) To be the author of (a book, article, poem, etc.).

   My uncle writes newspaper articles for The Herald.

   • 1892, Walter Besant, “Prologue: Who is Edmund Gray?”, in The Ivory Gate […], New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers, […], →OCLC:

     Thus, when he drew up instructions in lawyer language […]; his clerks, however, understood him very well. If he had written a love letter, or a farce, or a ballade, or a story, no one, either clerks, or friends, or compositors, would have understood anything but a word here and a word there.

   • 1964, Ernest Hemingway, A Moveable Feast, page 151:

     Since I had started to break down all my writing and get rid of all facility and try to make instead of describe, writing had been wonderful to do. But it was very difficult, and I did not know how I would ever write anything as long as a novel. It often took me a full morning of work to write a paragraph.

3. (transitive) To send written information to.

   (UK) Please write to me when you get there.

   (US) Please write me when you get there.

4. (transitive) To show (information, etc) in written form.

   The due day of the homework is written in the syllabus.

   • 1957 September 30, “Ghana: White Eminence”, in Time‎^[1], New York, N.Y.: Time Inc., →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 19 October 2011:

     Ghana’s motto, writ large on the gleaming white Independence Arch that overlooks the Atlantic in Accra, is «Freedom and Justice.»

   • 1959 August, K. Hoole, “The Middlesbrough–Newcastle Route of the N.E.R.”, in Trains Illustrated, London: Ian Allan Publishing, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 359:

     The route passes over low-lying land, the only item of note being the Cerebos salt works at Greatham, where one may catch a glimpse of the smart black diesel locomotive emblazoned with the firm’s name writ large.

5. (ditransitive with relative clause) To convey a fact to someone via writing.

   Jimmy wrote me that he needs more money.

   • 1916 March 11, “[advertisement] Jim Henry, Optimist”, in Saturday Evening Post‎^[2]:

     Do you know, one man actually wrote me he thought he could almost shave with the back of the blade, the lather «mellowed» his beard so.

6. (intransitive) To be an author.
   • 1964, Ernest Hemingway, A Moveable Feast, p. 151:

     I said that I did not believe anyone could write any way except the very best he could write without destroying his talent.

   I write for a living.

7. (computing, intransitive, with to) To record data mechanically or electronically.

   The computer writes to the disk faster than it reads from it.

8. (transitive, South Africa, Canada, of an exam, a document, etc.) To fill in, to complete using words.

   I was very anxious to know my score after I wrote the test.

9. To impress durably; to imprint; to engrave.

   truth written on the heart

   • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Romans 2:14–15:

     14 For when the Gentiles which haue not the Law, doe by nature the things contained in the Law: these hauing not the Law, are a Law vnto themselues,
     15 Which shew the worke of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witnesse, and their thoughts the meane while accusing, or else excusing one another:

10. To make known by writing; to record; to prove by one’s own written testimony; often used reflexively.

    • c. 1587–1588, [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […], part 1, 2nd edition, London: […] [R. Robinson for] Richard Iones, […], published 1592, →OCLC; reprinted as Tamburlaine the Great (A Scolar Press Facsimile), Menston, Yorkshire; London: Scolar Press, 1973, →ISBN, Act III, scene iii:

      Thoſe walled garriſons will I ſubdue,
      And write my ſelfe great Lord of Affrica:
      So from the Eaſt vnto the furtheſt Weſt,
      Shall Tamburlaine extend his puiſant arme.

    • 1649, J[ohn] Milton, ΕΙΚΟΝΟΚΛΆΣΤΗΣ [Eikonoklástēs] […], London: […] Matthew Simmons, […], →OCLC:

      He who writes himself Martyr by his own inscription, is like an ill painter, who by writing on a shapeless picture which he hath drawn, is fain to tell passengers what shape it is, which else no man could imagine.

11. (finance) To sell (an option or other derivative).
12. (chiefly Eastern Orthodoxy) To paint a religious icon.

Conjugation[edit]

Synonyms[edit]

• (form letters, words or symbols in order to communicate): inscribe, scrawl (indistinctly), scribble (quickly or imprecisely)
• (be the author of): author, pen
• (send (a letter) to): to post
• (show (information, etc) in written form): display, indicate, mark, show
• (computing: store (data)): save, store
• (fill in, complete): sit (Commonwealth)
• See also Thesaurus:write

Antonyms[edit]

• (computing: store (data)): load, read, retrieve

Derived terms[edit]

[edit]

Translations[edit]

Noun[edit]

write (plural writes)

1. The act or style of writing.
   • 1938, The Bankers Monthly (volume 55, page 591)

     The pen also gives a better write than the ordinary counter pen. The ink stand cannot be stolen, for it is fastened to the counter or desk.

2. (computing) The operation of storing data, as in memory or onto disk.

   How many writes per second can this hard disk handle?

   • 2006, MySQL administrator’s guide and language reference (page 393)

     In other words, the system can do 1200 reads per second with no writes, the average write is twice as slow as the average read, and the relationship is linear.

Derived terms[edit]

• quick-write

References[edit]

• “write”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
• write in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913

Anagrams[edit]

• twier, twire

Middle English[edit]

Verb[edit]

write

1. Alternative form of writen

West Frisian[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Old Frisian wrīta, from Proto-Germanic *wrītaną. Cognate with English write, Dutch wrijten.

Pronunciation[edit]

• IPA^(key): /ˈvritə/

Verb[edit]

write

1. to rip, to tear
2. to be painful, to sting

Inflection[edit]

Further reading[edit]

“write”, in Wurdboek fan de Fryske taal (in Dutch), 2011