écrite

Écrite is the feminine singular form of the past participle of the French verb écrire, and also the feminine singular form of the adjective meaning “written.” As a past participle, écrite is used with the auxiliary être or avoir depending on construction, and its form may reflect agreement with a preceding direct object.

As a past participle, écrite normally does not agree with the subject when the auxiliary is avoir and the direct object follows the participle, as in Elle a écrit une lettre. When the direct object preceding the participle appears, agreement is possible, yielding des lettres qu’elle a écrites. In the passive voice, the participle agrees with the subject, for example: La lettre a été écrite par l’auteur.

As an adjective, écrite means “written” and agrees with the noun it modifies. It is the feminine counterpart of écrit. Examples include une lettre écrite (a written letter) and une page écrite. By contrast, masculine forms include un document écrit or un texte écrit. The adjective écrite is commonly used to describe something that has been produced in writing rather than spoken.

Etymology derives from écrire, itself from the Latin scribere. The masculine past participle is écrit, and the feminine form adds a final -e to yield écrite, reflecting standard gender agreement in French past participles and adjectives.

In usage, écrite appears most often as part of phrases describing written works or documents and in grammatical constructions involving agreement with preceding objects or feminine nouns. It is distinguished from the uninflected notion of writing itself and is contrasted with its masculine counterpart écrit in closely related contexts.