1382, "a putting in writing," from M.Fr. conscription, from L. conscriptionem (nom. conscriptio) "a drawing up of a list, enrollment, a levying of soldiers," from conscribere "to enroll," from com- "with" + scribere "to write" (see script). The sense "compulsory enlistment for military service" (1800) is from the French Republic act of Sept. 5, 1798. Technically, a conscription is the enrollment of a fixed number by lot, with options of providing a substitute. The verb conscript is 1813, popularized during U.S. Civil War (1862).