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describe

verb
/dɪˈskɹaɪb//dɪˈskɹaɪ̯b/UK/dɪˈskɹaɪ̯b/US/dɪˈskɹaɪ̯b/CA

Etymology

From Middle English descriven, from Old French descrivre, from Latin dēscrībō (“to copy off, transcribe, sketch off, describe in painting or writing”), from dē (“off”) + scrībō (“write”); see scribe and shrive. Displaced native Old English āmearcian.

  1. derived from dēscrībō
  2. derived from descrivre
  3. derived from descriven

Definitions

  1. To represent in words.

    • The feeling is difficult to describe, but not unpleasant.
    • The geographer describes countries and cities.
    • Several witnesses describe seeing lights in the sky that night.

  2. To represent by drawing

    To represent by drawing; to draw a plan of; to delineate; to trace or mark out.

    • to describe a circle by the compasses; a torch waved about the head in such a way as to describe a circle
    • Uncas described an arc in the water with his own blade, and as the canoe passed swiftly on, Chingachgook recovered his paddle, and flourishing it on high, he gave the war-whoop of the Mohicans.
    • His body was contracted and bent towards them, and described an undulatory movement like that of a worm writhing.

  3. To give rise to a geometrical structure.

    • The function describes a very complex surface.
  4. ›+ 2 more definitions

    1. To introduce a new taxon to science by explaining its characteristics and particularly…

      To introduce a new taxon to science by explaining its characteristics and particularly how it differs from other taxa.

      • The fungus was first described by a botanist.

    2. To distribute into parts, groups, or classes

      To distribute into parts, groups, or classes; to mark off; to class.

      • Passed through the land, and described it by cities into seven parts in a book.

The neighborhood

Derived

abovedescribed, aforedescribed, describability, describee, describer, misdescribe, overdescribe, predescribe, redescribe

Vish — recursive loop

A definitional loop anchored at describe. Each word in the ring is defined by the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself. Scroll to it and watch.

01describe02represent03character04breed05birth06start07board08telephone09call

A definitional loop anchored at describe. Each word in the ring appears in the definition of the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself.

9 hops · closes at describe

curated · pre-corpus. live cycle detection across the full graph is the next major milestone.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA