Nearby Words

writ

[rit] Example Sentences Origin

writ

1[rit]
noun
1.
Law.
a.
a formal order under seal, issued in the name of a sovereign, government, court, or other competent authority, enjoining the officer or other person to whom it is issued or addressed to do or refrain from some specified act.
b.
(in early English law) any formal document in letter form, under seal, and in the sovereign's name.
2.
something written; a writing: sacred writ.

Origin:
before 900; Middle English, Old English; cognate with Old Norse rit writing, Gothic writs letter. See write

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Writ is always a great word to know.
So is double jeopardy. Does it mean:
circumstances that render conduct less serious and thereby serve to reduce the damages to be awarded or the punishment to be imposed
the subjecting of a person to a second trial or punishment for the same offense for which the person has already been tried or punished
Example Sentences
  • Indeed, there have been a number of instances when the writ was used to prevent innocent people from being executed.
  • Sports fans, in this view, are nationalists writ small.
  • Its writ can trump that of national governments when the single market is thought to be at risk.
EXPAND
Dictionary.com Unabridged

writ

2[rit]
verb Archaic.
a simple past tense and past participle of write.

write

[rahyt] verb, wrote or (Archaic) writ; writ·ten or (Archaic) writ; writ·ing.
verb (used with object)
1.
to trace or form (characters, letters, words, etc.) on the surface of some material, as with a pen, pencil, or other instrument or means; inscribe: Write your name on the board.
2.
to express or communicate in writing; give a written account of.
3.
to fill in the blank spaces of (a printed form) with writing: to write a check.
4.
to execute or produce by setting down words, figures, etc.: to write two copies of a letter.
5.
to compose and produce in words or characters duly set down: to write a letter to a friend.
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6.
to produce as author or composer: to write a sonnet; to write a symphony.
7.
to trace significant characters on, or mark or cover with writing.
8.
to cause to be apparent or unmistakable: Honesty is written on his face.
9.
Computers. to transfer (information, data, programs, etc.) from storage to secondary storage or an output medium.
10.
Stock Exchange. to sell (options).
11.
to underwrite.
COLLAPSE
verb (used without object)
12.
to trace or form characters, words, etc., with a pen, pencil, or other instrument or means, or as a pen or the like does: He writes with a pen.
13.
to write as a profession or occupation: She writes for the Daily Inquirer.
14.
to express ideas in writing.
15.
to write a letter or letters, or communicate by letter: Write if you get work.
16.
to compose or work as a writer or author.
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17.
Computers. to write into a secondary storage device or output medium.
COLLAPSE
18.
write down,
a.
to set down in writing; record; note.
b.
to direct one's writing to a less intelligent reader or audience: He writes down to the public.
19.
write in,
a.
to vote for (a candidate not listed on the ballot) by writing his or her name on the ballot.
b.
to include in or add to a text by writing: Do not write in corrections on the galley.
c.
to request something by mail: If interested, please write in for details.
20.
write off,
a.
to cancel an entry in an account, as an unpaid and uncollectable debt.
b.
to regard as worthless, lost, obsolete, etc.; decide to forget: to write off their bad experience.
c.
to amortize: The new equipment was written off in three years.
21.
write out,
a.
to put into writing.
b.
to write in full form; state completely.
c.
to exhaust the capacity or resources of by excessive writing: He's just another author who has written himself out.
22.
write up,
a.
to put into writing, especially in full detail: Write up a report.
b.
to present to public notice in a written description or account.
c.
Accounting. to make an excessive valuation of (an asset).

Origin:
before 900; Middle English writen, Old English wrītan; cognate with Old Saxon wrītan to cut, write, German reissen to tear, draw, Old Norse rīta to score, write

mis·write, verb (used with object), -wrote, -writ·ten, -writ·ing.

right, rite, wright, write.


6. compose, pen, author, draft, create.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source Link To writ
Collins
World English Dictionary
writ1 (rɪt)
 
n
1.  law Official name: claim (formerly) a document under seal, issued in the name of the Crown or a court, commanding the person to whom it is addressed to do or refrain from doing some specified act
2.  archaic a piece or body of writing: Holy Writ
 
[Old English; related to Old Norse rit, Gothic writs stroke, Old High German riz (German Riss a tear). See write]

writ2 (rɪt)
 
vb
1.  archaic, dialect or a past tense and past participle of write
2.  writ large plain to see; very obvious

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

writ
O.E. writ "something written, piece of writing," from the past participle stem of writan (see write). Used of legal documents or instruments since at least 1121.
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write
O.E. writan "to score, outline, draw the figure of," later "to set down in writing" (class I strong verb; past tense wrat, pp. writen), from P.Gmc. *writanan "tear, scratch" (cf. O.Fris. writa "to write," O.S. writan "to tear, scratch, write," O.N. rita "write, scratch, outline," O.H.G. rizan "to write,
scratch, tear," Ger. reißen "to tear, pull, tug, sketch, draw, design"), outside connections doubtful. Words for "write" in most I.E languages originally mean "carve, scratch, cut" (cf. L. scribere, Gk. grapho, Skt. rikh-); a few originally meant "paint" (cf. Goth. meljan, O.C.S. pisati, and most of the modern Slavic cognates).
"For men use to write an evill turne in marble stone, but a good turne in the dust." [More, 1513]
To write (something) off (1682) originally was from accounting; fig. sense is recorded from 1889. Write-in "unlisted candidate" is recorded from 1932.
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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