Meanings
plural inscriptions
- countableuncountableThe act of inscribing.
The inscription of the Temple of Preah Vihear on the World Heritage list shall be without prejudice to the rights of the Kingdom of Cambodia and the Kingdom of Thailand on the demarcation works of the Joint Commission for Land Boundary (JBC) of the two countries;
2008 June 18, Joint Communiqué, Council of Ministers of Cambodia, page 3 - countableuncountableText carved on a wall or plaque, such as a memorial or gravestone, or on some other item.
He had battled like a man, and gotten a man's reward — no silver tea-pots or salvers, with flowery inscriptions setting forth his virtues and the appreciation of a genteel parish; […]
1857, Thomas Hughes, Tom Brown's School Days - countableuncountableWords written in the front of a book as a dedication.
Synonyms & antonyms
nounThe text on a coin.
More synonyms by meaning
nounletters inscribed (especially words engraved or carved) on something
nouna short message (as in a book or musical work or on a photograph) dedicating it to someone or something
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Proto-Indo-European*h₁én
- Proto-Italic*en
- Proto-Italic*en-
- Latinin-
- Proto-Indo-European*(s)ker-?
- Proto-Indo-European*(s)kreybʰ-
- Proto-Indo-European*(s)kréybʰeti
- Proto-Italic*skreiβō
- Latinscrībō
- Latininscrībō
- Latinīnscrīptiō
- Englishinscription
Borrowed from Latin īnscrīptiō.
More words from Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Ancient Greek ἐπιγραφή
- ἐπιγραφή (epigraphḗ)carved text
Arabic نَقْش, نَقْش
- نَقْش (naqš)carved text
- نَقْش (naqš)text on a coin
Bulgarian на́дпис, посвещение
- на́дпис (nádpis)carved text
- посвещение (posveštenie)dedication in a book
Catalan inscripció
- inscripciócarved text
Chinese Mandarin 題字 /题字, 碑文
- 題字 /题字 (tízì)carved text
- 碑文 (bēiwén)carved text
- 題詞 /题词 (tící)carved text
- 題詞 /题词 (tící)dedication in a book
Czech nápis, věnování
- nápiscarved text
- věnovánídedication in a book
Dutch inscriptie, inscriptie
- inscriptiecarved text
- inscriptietext on a coin
- ex librisdedication in a book
Esperanto surskribo
- surskribocarved text
Finnish kaiverrus, teksti
- kaiverruscarved text
- tekstitext on a coin
- kirjoitustext on a coin
- omistuskirjoitusdedication in a book
French inscription, légende
- inscriptioncarved text
- légendetext on a coin
- dédicacededication in a book
German Inschrift, Aufschrift
- Inschriftcarved text
- Aufschrifttext on a coin
- Münzaufschrifttext on a coin
- Widmungdedication in a book
Greek επιγραφή, χάραξη
- επιγραφή (epigrafí)carved text
- χάραξη (cháraxi)carved text
- επιγραφή (epigrafí)text on a coin
- αφιέρωση (afiérosi)dedication in a book
Hebrew כְּתֹבֶת
- כְּתֹבֶת (któvet)carved text
Hindi शिलालेख, अभिलेख
- शिलालेख (śilālekh)carved text
- अभिलेख (abhilekh)carved text
- उत्कीर्णन (utkīrṇan)carved text
Hungarian felirat
- feliratcarved text
Italian inscrizione, motto
- inscrizionecarved text
- mottocarved text
- dedicadedication in a book
Japanese 碑文
- 碑文 (hibun)carved text
Latin īnscrīptiō
- īnscrīptiōcarved text
Norwegian inskripsjon, inskripsjon
- inskripsjoncarved text
- inskripsjontext on a coin
- dedikasjondedication in a book
Persian کَتیبه, کَندهکاری
- کَتیبه (katibe)carved text
- کَندهکاری (kande-kâri)text on a coin
- تَقدیمنامه (taġdim-nâme)dedication in a book
Polish inskrypcja, napis
- inskrypcjacarved text
- napistext on a coin
- dedykacjadedication in a book
Portuguese inscrição, legenda
- inscriçãocarved text
- legendatext on a coin
- dedicatóriadedication in a book
Romanian inscripție
- inscripțiecarved text
Russian на́дпись, на́дпись
- на́дпись (nádpisʹ)carved text
- на́дпись (nádpisʹ)text on a coin
- на́дпись (nádpisʹ)dedication in a book
- посвяще́ние (posvjaščénije)dedication in a book
Spanish inscripción, dedicatoria
- inscripcióncarved text
- dedicatoriadedication in a book
Swedish inskrift, inskription
- inskriftcarved text
- inskriptioncarved text
Tamil கல்வெட்டு
- கல்வெட்டு (kalveṭṭu)carved text
Turkish kitâbe, yazıt
- kitâbecarved text
- yazıtcarved text
- yazıtext on a coin
- ithafdedication in a book
Vietnamese chữ khắc
- chữ khắccarved text
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with inscription
All rhymes →Cite this entry
inscription. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/inscription
“inscription.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/inscription. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “inscription,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/inscription.
Source: inscription on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.