Writyng

Part of speech: noun, verb

Definitions

1. The act of inscribing letters or symbols onto a surface ; a piece of text or document that has been set down in words
2. Forming letters or symbols on paper or another surface ; a body of words recorded as a text, letter, or document
3. The process of marking words onto a page or surface ; a work of text that has been composed and recorded in print or by hand

Etymology: The Middle English spelling "writyng" is an older form of "writing," and the word first meant cutting or scratching rather than putting ink on a page. It comes from Old English "wrītan," which meant to score, incise, or carve a mark into a surface, and the "-ing" ending turned the verb into a noun for the result. Early inscriptions were carved into wood, stone, and bone, so the activity and the word grew up around that physical act. The sense of making marks with ink or pen emerged later, as writing on parchment and paper became common. Old Norse "rita," meaning to draw or scratch, is a close relative, showing the word's older sense of making lines on a surface. Some of this shift happened in Middle English, when "writing" began to refer to documents and the act of composing text.