shrive

The story

1. Latin · derived fromscrībō“write”
2. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*skrībaną
3. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*skrīban
4. Old English · inherited fromsċrīfan“1. to decree, pass judgement, prescribe, 3. (of a priest) to prescribe penance or absolution”
5. Middle English · inherited fromschryven
6. English todayshrive

From Middle English schryven, from Old English sċrīfan (“1. to decree, pass judgement, prescribe, 3. (of a priest) to prescribe penance or absolution”), from Proto-West Germanic *skrīban, from late Proto-Germanic *skrībaną, a borrowing from Latin scrībō (“write”). Compare West Frisian skriuwe (“to write”), Low German schrieven (“to write”), Dutch schrijven (“to write”), German schreiben (“to write”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål, and Norwegian Nynorsk skrive (“to write”), Swedish skriva (“to write”), Icelandic skrifa (“to write”). More at scribe and scribble.

Words from the same roots