write: [OE] The etymological notion underlying write is of ‘cutting’ or ‘scratching’ (it is related to German reissen ‘tear’). The earliest form of writing involved cutting marks on stone, wood, etc, and the same word was carried over when the technology of writing moved on to pen and ink. It comes from a prehistoric Germanic *wrītan, but its ultimate origins are not known. The noun writ [OE] goes back to the same Germanic base. => writ
write (v.)
Old English writan "to score, outline, draw the figure of," later "to set down in writing" (class I strong verb; past tense wrat, past participle writen), from Proto-Germanic *writan "tear, scratch" (cognates: 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 doubtful.
For men use to write an evill turne in marble stone, but a good turne in the dust. [More, 1513]
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). To write (something) off (1680s) originally was from accounting; figurative sense is recorded from 1889. Write-in "unlisted candidate" is recorded from 1932.
双语例句
1. Today was really a bit of a write-off for me.
今天对我来说真的有点儿白白浪费了。
来自柯林斯例句
2. I'm going to write him in on my ballot next year.
明年我要在我的选票上写上他的名字。
来自柯林斯例句
3. The car was a write-off, but everyone escaped unharmed.
这辆车报废了，但人员全部安全逃离。
来自柯林斯例句
4. Finding a volunteer to write the computer program isn't a problem.
找个志愿者编这个计算机程序不成问题。
来自柯林斯例句
5. That time with him is my qualification to write this book.
