transcribe

Where does the word "transcribe" come from? It comes from Latin transcribere, and was adopted directly into English (1590s).

Transcribe’s story begins in Latin: transcribere meant “to write across, to copy.” To write across, to copy, from trans- (across) and scribere (to write). It reached English by 1590s as transcribe. Settled as the English word for writing down speech or copying text. Today, transcribe means to put spoken words or one form of text into written or another form.

1. Stage 1 · Latin · ancient transcribere "to write across, to copy", to write across, to copy, from trans- (across) and scribere (to write).
2. Stage 2 · English · 1590s transcribe "to write down speech, or to copy text from one form to another", settled as the English word for writing down speech or copying text.