inscrib

Inscrib is a variant spelling of the English verb inscribe. It historically meant to write, carve, or engrave words on a surface, and also to enroll or register someone in a list or record. In contemporary usage, inscribe is the standard form, and inscrib appears chiefly in archaic, historical, or dialectal contexts.

Etymology and origins: The word derives from the Latin inscribere, meaning “to write on.” It is formed from in- (on) and scribere (to write). The modern spelling inscribe emerged in English, while inscrib survives in older texts as an alternative or archaic form.

Usage and context: Inscribe (the modern form) is used for both physical engraving and the act of writing within a surface, such as a book, monument, or plaque, as well as the figurative sense of recording information. An example: to inscribe a name on a commemorative plaque. The variant inscrib is rarely used in contemporary writing and tends to appear in older literature or regional texts. In mathematics and geometry, the standard term remains inscribe, as in “to inscribe a polygon in a circle,” rather than inscrib.

See also: inscribe, inscription, inscriptive.