An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/schreiben

by Friedrich Kluge

schreiben, verb, ‘to write,’ from the equivalent Middle High German schrîben, Old High German scrîban; corresponding to the equivalent Dutch schrijven, Old Saxon scrîƀan, Old Frisian skríva. Also with a remarkably divergent meaning, Anglo-Saxon scrîfan, ‘to inflict a punishment, impose penance, receive confession,’ English to shrive, Anglo-Saxon scrift, English shrift, so too Old Frisian scrîva, ‘to inflict a punishment,’ Old Icelandic skript, ‘confession, punishment,’ skripta, ‘to confess, cause to confess, punish.’ In the latter cognates there appears at all events a genuine Teutonic verbal root, skrī̆b, ‘to inflict a punishment,’ which was transferred by Christianity to ecclesiastical affairs; with this root Old Saxon 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), Latin scrîbere was now combined with this genuine Teutonic verb, and in the South of Germany entirely supplanted the meaning of the old scrîban; compare Brief and Tinte. In Upper German especially, scrîban, ‘to write,’ took firm root, as might have been expected; in English the Anglo-Saxon verb wrîtan (English to write), originally used of scratching runes, was retained.