Gewrit

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. An archaic Old English term for a written document, piece of writing, or sacred text
2. A word from Old English meaning something set down in writing, such as a record or scripture
3. An obsolete noun for a written record, document, or the writing that conveys religious teaching

Etymology: Gewrit is an Old English noun meaning "writing," "a document," or "scripture." It combines the collective prefix "ge-" with "writ," from the verb "wrītan," which originally meant "to score, cut, or carve." That sense survives in the Germanic cognates: Old Norse "rita" meant "to draw or scratch," and Old High German "rīzan" meant "to tear." Early writing was literally incising marks into wood or stone, so the act of writing began as a physical act of cutting. Old English speakers used the form for anything written down, and it was especially common for Holy Scripture, as in "Halige Gewrit" ("Holy Writ"). The plural was "gewritu." The English word "writ" descends from it, and in Middle English the word narrowed to mean a formal written command issued in a lawcourt. That legal sense is the one most modern readers encounter, and it remains in phrases like "writ of habeas corpus."