scrip

¹

[ skrip ]

noun

1. a receipt, certificate, list, or similar brief piece of writing.
2. a scrap of paper.
3. Finance.
   1. a certificate representing a fraction of a share of stock.
   2. a certificate to be exchanged for goods, as at a company store.
   3. a certificate indicating the right of the holder to receive payment later in the form of cash, goods, or land.
4. paper currency in denominations of less than one dollar, formerly issued in the United States.

scrip

²

[ skrip ]

noun

, Archaic.

1. a bag or wallet carried by wayfarers.

scrip

³

[ skrip ]

noun

, Informal.

1. a prescription, as for a drug.

scrip

¹

/ skrɪp /

noun

1. a written certificate, list, etc
2. a small scrap, esp of paper with writing on it
3. finance
   1. a certificate representing a claim to part of a share of stock
   2. the shares allocated in a bonus issue

scrip

²

/ skrɪp /

noun

1. informal.
   a medical prescription

scrip

³

/ skrɪp /

noun

1. archaic.
   a small bag or wallet, as carried by pilgrims

Other Words From

• scripless adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of scrip¹

First recorded in 1610–20; earliest sense “scrap of paper” perhaps a variant of scrap ¹; subsequent sense development shows influence of script and subscription, with scrip ¹def 3a specifically a shortening of subscription receipt

Origin of scrip²

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English scrip(pe), skreppe “bag, satchel, pilgrim's purse,” from Old French escharpe, escherpe, escreppe, Medieval Latin scrippa, scrippum, scerpa, schrippa “pilgrim's pack,” via Frankish from Latin scirpea “large reed basket,” derivative of scirpus “reed, bulrush”

Origin of scrip³

First recorded in 1915–20; shortening of prescription

Word History and Origins

Origin of scrip¹

C18: in some senses, probably from script ; otherwise, short for subscription receipt

Origin of scrip²

C20: short for prescription

Origin of scrip³

C14: from Old French escreppe, variant of escarpe scarf ¹

Example Sentences

Last week, as JD Vance prepared to take the debate stage with Walz, Terra Vance drove along winding roads through mountain hollows draped with wild kudzu, past an abandoned company store in her hometown where generations of coal miners in her family once shopped and paid with scrip they were rewarded for their work in the mines instead of cash.

From Los Angeles Times

Her medical provider was able to send the scrip to a different pharmacist, who provided the medication that day.

From Seattle Times

“I never asked to see a scrip, and I never asked to go up to the set, even though all my gay friends were saying, ‘Are you out of your mind?’

From Los Angeles Times

Neon was independent, a free town where U.S. government greenbacks, not company scrip, was legal tender — but it thrived off the glow of coal nearby.

From Seattle Times

They lived in barracks or tents and were paid — 80 cents a day in scrip — to work for local farmers.

From Washington Post