Rubricate

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To mark or write with red ink, or to supply with a title, heading, or decorative initial letter in red
2. To write, mark, or embellish text with red ink or pigment, especially for titles, headings, or ornamental initials
3. To color or inscribe portions of a manuscript or document in red, particularly for emphasis or decorative purposes

Etymology: Medieval scribes painted some of the most important words on a page in red, and the practice gave English a verb that still describes it. The Latin "rubricare" meant "to colour red," built from "ruber," red, and the English word "rubricate" carries that colour into the work of the manuscript itself: the rubrics, the headings, the opening letters, and the ornamental initials that guided a reader through a text. The English noun "rubric" came first and kept the sense of red ink. A rubric was originally a red-ink rule, marking out a section of a book or a direction for conduct, and the verb followed that meaning back to the act of colouring. The word has therefore kept its link to the red pigment long after most readers stopped seeing the colour on the page.