An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/schreiben

by Friedrich Kluge

schreiben, vb., ‘to write,’ from the equiv. MidHG. schrîben, OHG. scrîban; corresponding to the equiv. Du. schrijven, OSax. scrîƀan, OFris. skríva. Also with a remarkably divergent meaning, AS. scrîfan, ‘to inflict a punishment, impose penance, receive confession,’ E. to shrive, AS. scrift, E. shrift, so too OFris. scrîva, ‘to inflict a punishment,’ OIc. skript, ‘confession, punishment,’ skripta, ‘to confess, cause to confess, punish.’ In the latter cognates there appears at all events a genuine Teut. verbal root, skrī̆b, ‘to inflict a punishment,’ which was transferred by Christianity to ecclesiastical affairs; with this root OSax. biscrîƀan, ‘to concern oneself about,’ is also probably connected. On the adoption of Roman characters, and the introduction of the art of writing (in contrast to the earlier Runic system; see reißen, Buch, and Rune), Lat. scrîbere was now combined with this genuine Teut. vb., and in the South of Germany entirely supplanted the meaning of the old scrîban; comp. Brief and Tinte. In UpG. especially, scrîban, ‘to write,’ took firm root, as might have been expected; in E. the AS. vb. wrîtan (E. to write), orig. used of scratching runes, was retained.