Where does “subscript” come from?

Subscript comes from Latin subscriptus, the past participle of subscribere, meaning "to write under," derived from the prefix sub- and scribere, "to write," ultimately from Proto-Indo-European skreybʰ-.

subscript (English): A type of lettering form written lower than the...

Definitions

  1. A type of lettering form written lower than the...

Ancestry of “subscript”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishscriptA writing; a written document; Written...
2Middle Englishscritwriting; document; scroll
3Old Frenchescritpast participle of escrire; third-person singular...
4Latinscriptuswritten, having been written
5LatinscriboI write
6Proto-Italicskreiβōto carve
7Proto-Indo-Europeanskreybʰ-to write

Words derived from “subscript”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European skreybʰ- →Every word from Proto-Italic skreiβō →Every word from Latin scribo →