Etimology
From Middle English descriven, from Old French descrivre, from Latin dēscrībō (“I copy off, transcribe, sketch off, describe in painting or writing”), from dē (“off”) + scrībō (“write”); see scribe and shrive. Displaced native Old English āmearcian.
verb
describe (third-person singular simple present describes, present participle describing, simple past and past participle described)
(transitive) To represent in words.
(transitive) To represent by drawing; to draw a plan of; to delineate; to trace or mark out.
(transitive, mathematics) To give rise to a geometrical structure.
(transitive, taxonomy) To introduce a new taxon to science by explaining its characteristics and particularly how it differs from other taxa.
(obsolete) To distribute into parts, groups, or classes; to mark off; to class.
Examples
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.
Yet the truth is that City would probably have been coasting by that point if the referee, Michael Oliver, had not turned down three separate penalties, at least two of which could be accurately described as certainties.
[…] his lordship was out of humour. That was the way Chollacombe described as knaggy an old gager as ever Charles had had the ill-fortune to serve. Stiff-rumped, that's what he was, always rubbing the rust, or riding grub, like he had been for months past.
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.
The function describes a very complex surface.
The fungus was first described by a botanist.
Passed through the land, and described it by cities into seven parts in a book.
Related words
synonyms
(to represent in words): portray, betell, depict, report; see also Thesaurus:describe
(to represent in writing): bewrite
related terms
describable
description
descriptive
descriptivism
descriptivist
descriptor
scribe