LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
verbthird conjugation

dēscrībō

dēscrībō (present infinitive dēscrībere, perfect active dēscrīpsī, supine dēscrīptum)
Classical[deːsˈkriː.boː]Ecclesiastical[desˈkriː.bo]

Meaning

  1. to copy off or transcribe something from the original, write down, write out
  2. to describe in painting or writing, draw, draw out, sketch off
  3. figurativelyto represent, delineate, describe
  4. figurativelyto mark off, establish, define, divide or distribute into parts

In the readers how our graded readers gloss it

Conjugation conjugation 3

active indicative
formpresentimperfectfutureperfectpluperfectfut. perfect
1st sg.dēscrībōdēscrībēbamdēscrībamdēscrīpsīdēscrīpseramdēscrīpserō
2nd sg.dēscrībisdēscrībēbāsdēscrībēsdēscrīpsistīdēscrīpserāsdēscrīpseris
3rd sg.dēscrībitdēscrībēbatdēscrībetdēscrīpsitdēscrīpseratdēscrīpserit
1st pl.dēscrībimusdēscrībēbāmusdēscrībēmusdēscrīpsimusdēscrīpserāmusdēscrīpserimus
2nd pl.dēscrībitisdēscrībēbātisdēscrībētisdēscrīpsistisdēscrīpserātisdēscrīpseritis
3rd pl.dēscrībuntdēscrībēbantdēscrībentdēscrīpsērunt
dēscrīpsēre		dēscrīpserantdēscrīpserint
active subjunctive
active subjunctive
formpresentimperfectperfectpluperfect
1st sg.dēscrībamdēscrīberemdēscrīpserimdēscrīpsissem
2nd sg.dēscrībāsdēscrīberēsdēscrīpserīsdēscrīpsissēs
3rd sg.dēscrībatdēscrīberetdēscrīpseritdēscrīpsisset
1st pl.dēscrībāmusdēscrīberēmusdēscrīpserīmusdēscrīpsissēmus
2nd pl.dēscrībātisdēscrīberētisdēscrīpserītisdēscrīpsissētis
3rd pl.dēscrībantdēscrīberentdēscrīpserintdēscrīpsissent
passive indicative
passive indicative
formpresentimperfectfuture
1st sg.dēscrībordēscrībēbardēscrībar
2nd sg.dēscrīberis
dēscrībere		dēscrībēbāris
dēscrībēbāre		dēscrībēris
dēscrībēre
3rd sg.dēscrībiturdēscrībēbāturdēscrībētur
1st pl.dēscrībimurdēscrībēbāmurdēscrībēmur
2nd pl.dēscrībiminīdēscrībēbāminīdēscrībēminī
3rd pl.dēscrībunturdēscrībēbanturdēscrībentur
passive subjunctive
passive subjunctive
formpresentimperfect
1st sg.dēscrībardēscrīberer
2nd sg.dēscrībāris
dēscrībāre		dēscrīberēris
dēscrīberēre
3rd sg.dēscrībāturdēscrīberētur
1st pl.dēscrībāmurdēscrīberēmur
2nd pl.dēscrībāminīdēscrīberēminī
3rd pl.dēscrībanturdēscrīberentur
imperative
imperative
formactivepassive
pres. 2nd sg.dēscrībedēscrībere
pres. 2nd pl.dēscrībitedēscrībiminī
fut. 2nd sg.dēscrībitōdēscrībitor
fut. 3rd sg.dēscrībitōdēscrībitor
fut. 2nd pl.dēscrībitōte—
fut. 3rd pl.dēscrībuntōdēscrībuntor
infinitives & participles
infinitives & participles
formactivepassive
present infinitivedēscrīberedēscrībī
perfect infinitivedēscrīpsissedēscrīptum esse
future infinitivedēscrīptūrum essedēscrīptum īrī
present participledēscrībēns—
perfect participle—dēscrīptus
future participledēscrīptūrus
dēscrīptūra, dēscrīptūrā, dēscrīptūrae, dēscrīptūram, dēscrīptūrārum, dēscrīptūrās, dēscrīptūre, dēscrīptūrī, dēscrīptūrīs, dēscrīptūrō, dēscrīptūrōrum, dēscrīptūrōs, dēscrīptūrum		dēscrībendus
dēscrībundus, dēscrībenda, dēscrībendā, dēscrībendae, dēscrībendam, dēscrībendārum, dēscrībendās, dēscrībende, dēscrībendīs, dēscrībendōrum, dēscrībendōs, dēscrībunda, dēscrībundā, dēscrībundae, dēscrībundam, dēscrībundārum, dēscrībundās, dēscrībunde, dēscrībundī, dēscrībundīs, dēscrībundō, dēscrībundōrum, dēscrībundōs, dēscrībundum
gerunddēscrībendī, dēscrībendō, dēscrībendumsupinedēscrīptum, dēscrīptū

Phrases from Meissner's Latin Phrase-Book

describere aliquem (Cael. 20. 50)
to allude to a person or thing (not alludere).
civitati leges, iudicia, iura describere
to give the state a constitution.
formas (not figuras) geometricas describere
to draw geometrical figures.

dē-scrībo, psi, ptum (in MSS. and edd. often confounded with discribo, q. v.), 3, v. a.
I. To copy off, transcribe any thing from an original (freq. in Cic.; elsewh. rare): scripsit Balbus ad me, se a te (i. e. e tuo exemplo) quintum de Finibus librum descripsisse, Cic. Att. 13, 21; cf. id. Ac. 2, 4, 11: epistolam, id. Att. 8, 9; id. Fam. 12, 17, 2; 12, 7, 22: legem, Suet. Cal. 41; id. Dom. 20; so, to write down, write out: carmina in foliis, Verg. A. 3, 445; in carved letters: in viridi cortice carmina, id. E. 5, 14.— Class. and far more freq.,
II. To sketch off, to describe in painting, writing, etc.: delineare, definire.
A. Lit.: non potuit pictor rectius describere ejus formam, Plaut. As. 2, 3, 22; so, geometricas formas in harena, Cic. Rep. 1, 17 fin.: formas in pulvere, Liv. 25, 31; cf. Cic. Fin. 5, 19; id. Clu. 32, 87; id. Sen. 14, 49: sphaeram, id. Rep. 1, 14; cf. caelum, Varr. R. R. 2, 1, 7: caeli meatus radio, Verg. A. 6, 851; cf. id. E. 3, 41: vitam votivā tabellā, Hor. S. 2, 1, 33 et saep.—
B. Trop.
1. To represent, delineate, describe: malos mores, Plaut. Mil. 3, 1, 165; cf.: hominum sermones moresque, Cic. Or. 40, 138: definienda res erit verbis et breviter describenda, id. Inv. 1, 8 fin: qualem (mulierem) ego paulo ante descripsi, id. Cael. 20, 50; id. Phil. 2, 44; id. Sull. 29 fin.: me latronem ac sicarium, id. Mil. 18, 47: si quis erat dignus describi, quod malus ac fur, etc., Hor. S. 1, 4, 3: malo carmine, id. Ep. 2, 1, 154; Quint. 3, 4, 3: vulnera Parthi, Hor. S. 2, 1, 15: lucum, aram Dianae, flumen Rhenum, pluvium arcum, id. A. P. 18 et saep.: praecepta, id. S. 2, 3, 34: facta versibus, Nep. Att. 18, 6. —Rarely
(b). with acc. and inf.: nec qui descripsit corrumpi semina matrum, Ov. Tr. 2, 415; Gell. 9, 1.—Part. subst.: dēscrip-ta, ōrum, n.: recitari factorum dictorumque ejus descripta per dies jussit, the diary, Tac. A. 6, 24.—
2. To mark off, define, divide, distribute into parts. (But whenever the notion of distribution or division is implied, the form discribo seems to have been used by class. writers; and is now restored where de-scr. is found in earlier edd., e.g. Cic. Rep. 2, 8; id. de Or. 2, 71, 288; id. Sest. 30, 66 et saep.) Cf.: libertinos in quatuor urbanas tribus, Liv. 45, 15: annum in duodecim menses, Liv. 1, 19; Flor. 1, 2, 2. —Without in.: commode omnes descripti, aetates, classes, equitatus, Cic. Rep. 4, 2; and: classes centuriasque et hunc ordinem ex censu descripsit, Liv. 1, 42: terram, Vulg. Jos. 18, 6 al. et saep.—
3. Aliquid (alicui), to ascribe, apportion, appoint, assign to any one (cf. remark, no. 2 supra); cf.: vecturas frumenti finitimis civitatibus, * Caes. B. C. 3, 42, 4; Liv. 1, 32 al.: officia, to define, Cic. Ac. 2, 36; id. Fam. 12, 1: vices (poetae), Hor. A. P. 86: munera pugnae, Sil. 9, 267 et saep.—Hence, dēscrip-tus, a, um, P. a., qs. marked out, i. e. precisely ordered, properly arranged (ap. Cic.): materies orationis omnibus locis descripta, instructa ornataque, Cic. de Or. 2, 34, 145; cf.: ordo verborum, id. Or. 59, 200: natura nihil est aptius, nihil descriptius, id. Fin. 3, 22, 74.—Neutr. plur. as subst.: dēscrip-ta, orum, things recorded, writings, Tac. A. 6, 24.—Sup. does not occur.—* Adv.: dē-scriptē, distinctly, precisely: descripte et electe digerere, opp. confuse et permixte dispergere, Cic. Inv. 1, 30, 49.

Origins

  1. Proto-Indo-European*de
  2. Proto-Indo-European*déh₁
  3. Proto-Italic*dē
  4. Latindēscrībō

Latin dē- Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker-? Proto-Indo-European *(s)kreybʰ- Proto-Indo-European *(s)kréybʰeti Proto-Italic *skreiβō Latin scrībō Latin dēscrībō From dē- + scrībō (“write”).

Descendants
  • Catalandescriure
  • Italiandescrivere
  • Frenchdécrirefrom Old French descrivre
  • Romaniandescriefrom Old French descrivre
  • Englishdescribefrom Old French descrivre
  • Portuguesedescrever
  • Spanishdescribir
  • Galiciandescribir
  • Mirandeseçcrebir
  • Siciliandiscrìviri

Quick answers

What does dēscrībō mean in Latin?
dēscrībō, a verb, means “to copy off or transcribe something from the original, write down, write out; to describe in painting or writing, draw, draw out, sketch off; to represent, delineate, describe”.
What are the principal parts of dēscrībō?
dēscrībō, dēscrībere, dēscrīpsī, dēscrīptum (third conjugation).
How do you pronounce dēscrībō?
In classical Latin, [deːsˈkriː.boː]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [desˈkriː.bo].
Where does dēscrībō come from?
Proto-Indo-European *de → Proto-Indo-European *déh₁ → Proto-Italic *dē → Latin dēscrībō.