Etymology

description

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Today it means: A sketch or account of anything in words; a portraiture or representation in language; an enumeration of the essential qualities of a thing or species. Full definition →

Middle English descripcioun ← Old French description ← Latin dēscrīptiō
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The story

  1. Latin · derived fromdēscrīptiō
  2. Old French · derived fromdescription
  3. Middle English · inherited fromdescripcioun
  4. English todaydescription

From Middle English descripcioun, from Old French description and its etymon, Latin dēscrīptiō, noun of action of dēscrībō (“to describe”). Equivalent to describe + -tion.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.