escriba

Escriba is a Spanish term with several related senses. As a noun, escriba means scribe or writer, a person who transcribes, records, or keeps documents. Historically, scribes were educated officials in bureaucratic administrations, and the term appears frequently in historical and archaeological contexts, including references to scribal classes in ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia. In modern Spanish, escriba is used mainly in literary, historical, or formal contexts; more common everyday terms for a writer are escritor or escritora, while escriba may appear in scholarly or ceremonial phrasing.

As a verb form, escriba is the present subjunctive of escribir for third person singular (él/ella/usted escribe); it is also the formal imperative used with the pronoun usted: Escriba su nombre, por favor. The corresponding plural command for a group is Escriban. These forms are part of the same verb family and share the same root, escribir.

Etymology and related usage: the word derives from Latin scriba, meaning writer or secretary. The noun escriba is sometimes encountered in historical or philological writings and can occur as a surname in Spanish-speaking regions. In broader usage, related terms include escribanía, referring to the office or practice of writing, documentation, or notarial work, and the term escribiente, a more common contemporary noun for a clerk or writer.