Definition of Writing

Babylon English
writing
n. act of marking on a substance with symbols or letters; literary work; document, manuscript; handwriting, penmanship; something written; style of writing

write
v. mark with symbols and letters on a surface (with a pen, pencil, etc.); record, register; compose; carve, engrave; record data onto a storage medium (Computers)

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Writing definition was found in categories: Computer & Internet(1)  Language, Idioms & Slang(7)  Law(1)  Social Science(2)  Religion & Spirituality(3)  Arts & Humanities(1)  Entertainment & Music(1)  Encyclopedia(1)  

Writing Definition from Computer & Internet Dictionaries & Glossaries

FOLDOC
write
1. <chatUnix's simple talk command and protocol. write has been largely superseded by talk and then irc.
An enhancement, RWP, has been proposed.
2. A simple text editor for Windows.
(1998-04-28)


writing system
<human languagecharacter> The set of glyphs used for representing a given human language in written form, generally along with their conventions for use.
(1998-10-19)


Writing Definition from Language, Idioms & Slang Dictionaries & Glossaries

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
Writing
(p. pr. & vb. n.)
of Write
  
(n.)
The act or art of forming letters and characters on paper, wood, stone, or other material, for the purpose of recording the ideas which characters and words express, or of communicating them to others by visible signs.
  
(n.)
Handwriting; chirography.
  
(n.)
Anything written or printed; anything expressed in characters or letters
  
(n.)
Any written composition; a pamphlet; a work; a literary production; a book; as, the writings of Addison.
  
(n.)
Any legal instrument, as a deed, a receipt, a bond, an agreement, or the like.
  
(n.)
An inscription.
  

WordNet 2.0
writing

Noun
1. the act of creating written works; "writing was a form of therapy for him"; "it was a matter of disputed authorship"
(synonym) authorship, composition, penning
(hypernym) verbal creation
(hyponym) drafting
(derivation) write, compose, pen, indite
(class) write, compose, pen, indite
2. the work of a writer; anything expressed in letters of the alphabet (especially when considered from the point of view of style and effect); "the writing in her novels is excellent"; "that editorial was a fine piece of writing"
(synonym) written material, piece of writing
(hypernym) written communication, written language
(hyponym) bowdlerization, bowdlerisation
(part-meronym) epilogue, epilog
3. (usually plural) the collected work of an author; "the idea occurs with increasing frequency in Hemingway's writings"
(hypernym) written communication, written language
(hyponym) patristics, patrology
(classification) plural, plural form
4. letters or symbols written or imprinted on a surface to represent the sounds or words of a language; "he turned the paper over so the writing wouldn't show"; "the doctor's writing was illegible"
(hypernym) written communication, written language
(hyponym) orthography, writing system
5. the activity of putting something in written form; "she did the thinking while he did the writing"
(synonym) committal to writing
(hypernym) activity
(hyponym) cryptography, coding, secret writing
(derivation) write


write

Verb
1. produce a literary work; "She composed a poem"; "He wrote four novels"
(synonym) compose, pen, indite
(hypernym) create verbally
(hyponym) draw
(entail) spell
(see-also) write out, write up
(verb-group) publish
(derivation) writer, author
(classification) writing, authorship, composition, penning
2. communicate or express by writing; "Please write to me every week"
(hypernym) communicate, intercommunicate
(hyponym) write in
(verb-group) drop a line
(derivation) writer
3. have (one's written work) issued for publication; "How many books did Georges Simenon write?"; "She published 25 books during her long career"
(synonym) publish
(hypernym) create verbally
(verb-group) compose, pen, indite
(derivation) writer, author
4. communicate (with) in writing; "Write her soon, please!"
(synonym) drop a line
(hypernym) correspond
(derivation) writer
5. communicate by letter; "He wrote that he would be coming soon"
(hypernym) communicate, intercommunicate
(verb-group) drop a line
(derivation) writer
6. write music; "Beethoven composed nine symphonies"
(synonym) compose
(hypernym) make, create
(hyponym) counterpoint
(classification) music
7. mark or trace on a surface; "The artist wrote Chinese characters on a big piece of white paper"
(hypernym) trace, draw, line, describe, delineate
(hyponym) stenograph
(derivation) writer
8. record data on a computer; "boot-up instructions are written on the hard disk"
(hypernym) record, tape
(hyponym) overwrite
(classification) computer science, computing
9. write or name the letters that comprise the conventionally accepted form of (a word or part of a word); "He spelled the word wrong in this letter"
(synonym) spell
(hyponym) hyphenate, hyphen

The Phrase Finder
The writing is on the wall
Meaning
An unavoidable disaster is foretold.
Origin
From The Bible. Daniel 5.5. In the same hour came forth fingers of a man's hand, and wrote over against the candlestick upon the plaster of the wall of the king's palace: and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote.

hEnglish - advanced version
writing

writing
\writ"ing\ (?), n.
1. the act or art of forming letters and characters on paper, wood, stone, or other material, for the purpose of recording the ideas which characters and words express, or of communicating them to others by visible signs.
2. anything written or printed; anything expressed in characters or letters; as: (a) any legal instrument, as a deed, a receipt, a bond, an agreement, or the like. (b) any written composition; a pamphlet; a work; a literary production; a book; as, the writings of addison. (c) an inscription. and pilate wrote a title and the writing was, jesus of nazareth, the king of the jews. xix. 19.
3. handwriting; chirography.
writing
book, a book for practice in penmanship.
writing
desk, a desk with a sloping top for writing upon; also, a case containing writing materials, and used in a similar manner.
writing
lark (zo?l.), the european yellow-hammer; -- so called from the curious irregular lines on its eggs. [prov. eng.]
writing
machine. same as typewriter.
writing
master, one who teaches the art of penmanship.
writing
obligatory (law), a bond.
writing
paper, paper intended for writing upon with ink, usually finished with a smooth surface, and sized.
writing
school, a school for instruction in penmanship.
writing
table, a table fitted or used for writing upon.
writing
n
1. the act of creating written works; "writing was a form of therapy for him"; "it was a matter of disputed authorship" [syn: authorship, composition, penning]


2. the work of a writer; anything expressed in letters of the alphabet (especially when considered from the point of view of style and effect); "the writing in her novels is excellent"; "that editorial was a fine piece of writing" [syn: written material, piece of writing]


3. (usually plural) the collected work of an author; "the idea occurs with increasing frequency in hemingway's writings"
4. letters or symbols written or imprinted on a surface to represent the sounds or words of a language; "he turned the paper over so the writing wouldn't show"; "the doctor's writing was illegible"
5. the activity of putting something in written form: "she did the thinking while he did the writing" [syn: committal to writing ]


writing
the art of writing must have been known in the time of the early pharaohs. moses is commanded "to write for a memorial in a book" (ex. 17:14) a record of the attack of amalek. frequent mention is afterwards made of writing (28:11, 21, 29, 36; 31:18; 32:15, 16; 34:1, 28; 39:6, 14, 30). the origin of this art is unknown, but there is reason to conclude that in the age of moses it was well known. the inspired books of moses are the most ancient extant writings, although there are written monuments as old as about b.c. 2000. the words expressive of "writing," "book," and "ink," are common to all the branches or dialects of the semitic language, and hence it has been concluded that this art must have been known to the earliest semites before they separated into their various tribes, and nations, and families. "the old testament and the discoveries of oriental archaeology alike tell us that the age of the exodus was throughout the world of western asia an age of literature and books, of readers and writers, and that the cities of palestine were stored with the contemporaneous records of past events inscribed on imperishable clay. they further tell us that the kinsfolk and neighbours of the israelites were already acquainted with alphabetic writing, that the wanderers in the desert and the tribes of edom were in contact with the cultured scribes and traders of ma'in [southern arabia]

for Vocabulary Exams of KPDS, YDS,UDS (in Turkey); and SAT in America
writing
The act or art of tracing or inscribing on a surface letters or ideographs.

English Phonetics

JM Welsh <=> English Dictionary
Ysgnfiad
Ysgnfiad = n. a writing

Ysgrif
Ysgrif = n. a notch; a writing

Ysgrifen
Ysgrifen = n. a piece of writing

Ysgrifeniad
Ysgrifeniad = n. a writing



The 'Lectric Law Library
Writing, Writing Obligatory
WRITING - The act of forming by the hand letters or characters of a particular kind on paper or other suitable substance, and artfully putting them together so as to co nvey ideas. It differs from printing, which is the formation of words on paper or other proper substance by means of a stamp. Sometimes by writing ii understood printing, and sometimes printing and writing mixed.

Many contracts are required to be in writing; all deeds for real estate must be in writing, for it cannot be conveyed by a contract not in writing, yet it is the constant practice to make deeds partly in printing, and partly in writing. Wills, except nuncupative wills, must begin writing, and signed by the testator; and nuncupative wills must be reduced to writing by the witnesses within a limited time after the testator's death.

Records, bonds, bills of exchange and many other engagements, must, from their nature, be made in writing.

WRITING OBLIGATORY - A bond; an agreement reduced to writing, by which the party becomes bound to perform something, or suffer it to be done.
   

This entry contains material from Bouvier's Legal Dictionary, a work published in the 1850's.


Writing Definition from Social Science Dictionaries & Glossaries

Dream Dictionary
Writing
To dream that you are writing, foretells that you will make a mistake which will almost prove your undoing.

To see writing, denotes that you will be upbraided for your careless conduct and a lawsuit may cause you embarrassment.

To try to read strange writing, signifies that you will escape enemies only by making no new speculation after this dream.

See Letters.
  

Phobia
Graphophobia
Fear of writing or handwriting

Scriptophobia
Fear of writing in public

Verbophobia
Fear of words


Writing Definition from Religion & Spirituality Dictionaries & Glossaries

Rakefet
Devanagari
Devanagari (Sanskrit) "Divine city writing," the alphabetic script of Aryan India, in which the Sanskrit language is usually written. The Devanagari alphabet and the art of writing it were kept secret for ages, and the dvijas (twice-born) and the dikshitas (initiates) alone were originally permitted to use this literary art. In India, as in many other countries which have been the seat of archaic civilizations, sacred and secret records were committed to the tablets of the mind, rather than to material tablets. Alone the priesthood invariably had, in addition to the mnemonic records, an ideographic or syllabic script which was used when considered convenient or necessary, mainly for intercommunication between themselves and brother-initiates speaking other tongues. This applied to ideographic characters which can be read with equal facility by those acquainted with them, whatever their spoken mother-tongue may be, and to written characters imbodying an archaic or sacred language, as was the case with the ancient Sanskrit. This is the main reason why these ancient peoples have so few allusions -- and sometimes no allusions at all -- to writing; in the civilizations of those far past times writing was not found to be a need and was kept as a sacred art for the temple scribes.
"Devanagari is as old as the Vedas, and held so sacred that the Brahmans, first under penalty of death, and later on, of eternal ostracism, were not even allowed to mention it to profane ears, much less to make known the existence of their secret temple libraries" (Five Years of Theosophy 360).
to be continue "Devanagari2 "

Speech
Speech The vocal expression of thought in language, which implies the existence of mind which has reached self-consciousness on this plane, was not fully developed in mankind until the fourth root-race. The first root-race was devoid of mind on our plane; the second had a sound language of vowels, and its speech was largely onomatopoetic in character; the third developed in its beginning a speech which was little better than what are now known as animal sounds, but towards its end the first approximately fully developed human beings had monosyllabic speech, after the awakening of their minds by the manasaputras. Before that there was communication by what may be called thought-transference. After this monosyllabic speech, came the agglutinative, spoken by some Atlantean races, and then the inflectional language of the fifth root-race, represented by Sanskrit and its derivatives, and closely related languages such as Greek and Latin.
The great number and variety of languages is evidence of the great antiquity of the human race and its extensive division and subdivision. The elaborateness of languages spoken by so-called primitive peoples, especially their frequently highly complicated and extensive vocabulary, for which their modern representatives have but little use, shows that they are remnants of once highly civilized peoples.
That the priests of Atlantis addressed their gods in the language of those gods, is a mystical statement: they addressed the regents of the elements in the sound-language appropriate to the particular element. Vach is the mystic speech by which occult knowledge is communicated to man. See also LOGOS; MANTRAS; SOUND

Easton's Bible Dictionary
Writing
The art of writing must have been known in the time of the early Pharaohs. Moses is commanded "to write for a memorial in a book" (Ex. 17:14) a record of the attack of Amalek. Frequent mention is afterwards made of writing (28:11, 21, 29, 36; 31:18; 32:15, 16; 34:1, 28; 39:6, 14, 30). The origin of this art is unknown, but there is reason to conclude that in the age of Moses it was well known. The inspired books of Moses are the most ancient extant writings, although there are written monuments as old as about B.C. 2000. The words expressive of "writing," "book," and "ink," are common to all the branches or dialects of the Semitic language, and hence it has been concluded that this art must have been known to the earliest Semites before they separated into their various tribes, and nations, and families. "The Old Testament and the discoveries of Oriental archaeology alike tell us that the age of the Exodus was throughout the world of Western Asia an age of literature and books, of readers and writers, and that the cities of Palestine were stored with the contemporaneous records of past events inscribed on imperishable clay. They further tell us that the kinsfolk and neighbours of the Israelites were already acquainted with alphabetic writing, that the wanderers in the desert and the tribes of Edom were in contact with the cultured scribes and traders of Ma'in [Southern Arabia], and that the 'house of bondage' from which Israel had escaped was a land where the art of writing was blazoned not only on the temples of the gods, but also on the dwellings of the rich and powerful.", Sayce. (See DEBIR ¯T0000995; PHOENICIA.) The "Book of the Dead" was a collection of prayers and formulae, by the use of which the souls of the dead were supposed to attain to rest and peace in the next world. It was composed at various periods from the earliest time to the Persian conquest. It affords an interesting glimpse into the religious life and system of belief among the ancient Egyptians. We learn from it that they believed in the existence of one Supreme Being, the immortality of the soul, judgement after death, and the resurrection of the body. It shows, too, a high state of literary activity in Egypt in the time of Moses. It refers to extensive libraries then existing. That of Ramessium, in Thebes, e.g., built by Rameses II., contained 20,000 books. When the Hebrews entered Canaan it is evident that the art of writing was known to the original inhabitants, as appears, e.g., from the name of the city Debir having been at first Kirjath-sepher, i.e., the "city of the book," or the "book town" (Josh. 10:38; 15:15; Judg. 1:11). The first mention of letter-writing is in the time of David (2 Sam. 11:14, 15). Letters are afterwards frequently spoken of (1 Kings 21:8, 9, 11; 2 Kings 10:1, 3, 6, 7; 19:14; 2 Chr. 21:12-15; 30:1, 6-9, etc.).

Smith's Bible Dictionary
Writing

There is no account in the Bible of the origin of writing. That the Egyptians in the time of Joseph were acquainted with writing of a certain kind there is evidence to prove, but there is nothing to show that up to this period the knowledge extended to the Hebrew family. At the same time there is no evidence against it. Writing is first distinctly mentioned in (Exodus 17:14) and the connection clearly implies that it was not then employed for the first time but was so familiar as to be used for historic records. It is not absolutely necessary to infer from this that the art of writing was an accomplishment possessed by every Hebrew citizen. If we examine the instances in which writing is mentioned in connection with individuals, we shall find that in all cases the writers were men of superior position. In (Isaiah 29:11,12) there is clearly a distinction drawn between the man who was able to read and the man who was not, and it seems a natural inference that the accomplishments of reading and writing were not widely spread among the people, when we find that they are universally attributed to those of high rank or education-kings, priests, prophets and professional scribes. In the name Kirjathsepher (book-town), (Joshua 15:15) there is an indication of a knowledge of writing among the Phoenicians. The Hebrews, then, a branch of the great Semitic family, being in possession of the art of writing, according to their own historical records, at a very early period, the further questions arise, what character they made use of, and whence they obtained it. Recent investigations have shown that the square Hebrew character is of comparatively modern date, and has been formed from a more ancient type by a gradual process of development. What then was this ancient type? Most probably the Phoenician. Pliny was of opinion that letters were of Assyrian origin. Dioderus Siculus (v. 74) says that the Syrians invented letters, and from them the Phoenicians, having learned them transferred them to the Greeks. According to Tacitus (Ann. xi. 14,, Egypt was believed to be the source whence the Phoenicians got their knowledge. Be this as it may, to the Phoenicians, the daring seamen and adventurous colonizers of the ancient world the voice of tradition has assigned the honor of the invention of letters. Whether it came to them from an Aramean or an Egyptian source can at best he but the subject of conjecture. It may, however, be reasonably inferred that the ancient Hebrews derived from or shared with the Phoenicians the knowledge of writing and the use of letters. The names of the Hebrew letters indicate that they must have been the invention of a Shemitic people, and that they were moreover a pastoral people may be inferred from the same evidence. But whether or not the Phoenicians were the inventors of the Shemitic alphabet, there can be no doubt of their just claim to being its chief disseminators; and with this understanding we may accept the genealogy of alphabets as given by Gesenius, and exhibited in the accompanying table. The old Semitic alphabets may he divided into two principal classes:
→ The Phoenician as it exists in the inscriptions in Cyprus, Malta, Carpentras, and the coins of Phoenicia and her colonies. From it are derived the Samaritan and the Greek character.
→ The Hebrew-Chaldee character; to which belong the Hebrew square character; the which has some traces of a cursive hand; the Estrangelo, or ancient Syriac; and the ancient Arabic or Cufic. It was probably about the first or second century after Christ that the square character assumed its present form; though in a question involved in so much uncertainty it is impossible to pronounce with great positiveness. The alphabet .-The oldest evidence on the subject of the Hebrew alphabet is derived from the alphabetical psalms and poems: Psal 25,34,37,111,112,119,145; (Proverbs 31:10-31; Lamentations 1:1-4) From these we ascertain that the number of the letters was twenty-two, as at present. The Arabic alphabet originally consisted of the same number. It has been argued by many that the alphabet of the Phoenicians at first consisted of only sixteen letters. The legend, as told by Pliny (vii. 56), is as follows; Cadmus brought with him into Greece sixteen letters; at the time of the Trojan war Palamedes added four others, theta, epsilon, phi, chi, and Simonides of Melos four more dzeta, eta, psi, omega. Divisions of words.-Hebrew was originally written, like most ancient languages, without any divisions between the words. The same is the case with the Phoenician inscriptions, The various readings in the LXX. show that, at the version was made, in the Hebrew MSS. which the translators used the words were written in a continuous series. The modern synagogue rolls and the MSS. of the Samaritan Pentateuch have no vowel-points, but the words are divided, and the Samaritan in this respect differs hut little from the Hebrew. Writing materials, etc.-The oldest documents which contain the writing of a Semitic race are probably the bricks of Nineveh and Babylon, on which are impressed the cuneiform Syrian inscriptions. There is, however, no evidence that they were ever used by the Hebrews. It is highly probable that the ancient as well as the most common material which the Hebrews used for writing was dressed skin in some form or other. We know that the dressing of skins was practiced by the Hebrews, (Exodus 25:5; Leviticus 13:48) and they may have acquired the knowledge of the art from the Egyptians, among whom if had attained great perfection, the leather-cutters constituting one of the principal subdivisions of the third caste. Perhaps the Hebrews may have borrowed among their either acquirements, the use of papyrus from the Egyptians, but of this we have no positive evidence. In the Bible the only allusions to the use of papyrus are in (2 John 1:12) where chartes (Authorized Version "paper") occurs, which refers especially to papyrus paper, and 3 Macc. 4:20, where charteria is found in the same sense. Herodotus, after telling us that the Ionians learned the art of writing from the Phoenicians, adds that they called their books skins, because they made use of sheep-skins and goat-skins when short of paper. Parchment was used for the MSS. of the Pentateuch in the time of Josephus, and the membranae of (2 Timothy 4:13) were skins of parchment. It was one of the provisions in the Talmud that the law should be written on the skins of clean animals, tame or wild, or even of clean birds. The skins when written upon were formed into rolls (megilloth). (Psalms 40:7) comp. Isai 34:4; Jere 36:14; Ezek 2:9; Zech 5:1 They were rolled upon one or two sticks and fastened with a thread, the ends of which were sealed. (Isaiah 29:11; Daniel 12:4; Revelation 5:1) etc. The rolls were generally written on one side only, except in (Ezekiel 2:9; Revelation 5:1) They were divided into columns (Authorized Version "leaves,") (Jeremiah 36:23) the upper margin was to be not less than three fingers broad, the lower not less than four; and a space of two fingers breadth was to be left between every two columns. But besides skins, which were used for the more permanent kinds of writing, tablets of wood covered with wax, (Luke 11:63) served for the ordinary purposes of life. Several of these were fastened together and formed volumes. They were written upon with a pointed style, (Job 19:24) sometimes of iron. (Psalms 45:1; Jeremiah 8:8; 17:1) For harder materials a graver, (Exodus 32:4; Isaiah 8:1) was employed. For parchment or skins a reed was used. (3 John 1:13) 3 Macc. 5:20. The ink, (Jeremiah 36:18) literally "black," like the Greek melan, (2 Corinthians 3:3; 2 John 1:12; 3 John 1:13) was of lampblack dissolved in gall-juice. It was carried in an inkstand which was suspended at the girdle, (Ezekiel 9:2,3) as is done at the present day in the East. To professional scribes there are allusions in (Ezra 7:8; Psalms 45:1) 2 Esdr. 14:24.
  


Writing Definition from Arts & Humanities Dictionaries & Glossaries

A Dictionary of Postmodern Terms
writing
Derrida 's term for any human production that stays around after the "author" has left to continue to influence the way in which we think or act even though we cannot interact with the author about the written work.  See, especially, Of Grammatology, p. 11.


Writing Definition from Entertainment & Music Dictionaries & Glossaries

English - Klingon
Klingon writing system
n. pIqaD


Writing Definition from Encyclopedia Dictionaries & Glossaries

Wikipedia English - The Free Encyclopedia
Writing
Writing, is the representation of language in a textual medium; that is with the use of signs or symbols. It is distinguished from illustration such as cave drawings and paintings, and recording language via a non-textual medium such as magnetic tape audio.

See more at Wikipedia.org...