indite

[ in-dahyt ]

verb (used with object)

, in·dit·ed, in·dit·ing.

1. to compose or write, as a poem.
2. to treat in a literary composition.
3. Obsolete. to dictate.
4. Obsolete. to prescribe.

indite

/ ɪnˈdaɪt /

verb

1. archaic.
   to write
2. obsolete.
   to dictate

Usage

Indite and inditement are sometimes wrongly used where indict and indictment are meant: he was indicted (not indited ) for fraud

Derived Forms

• inˈditement, noun
• inˈditer, noun

Other Words From

• in·ditement noun
• in·diter noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of indite¹

First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English enditen, from Old French enditer, from unattested Vulgar Latin indictāre, derivative of Latin indictus, past participle of indīcere “to announce, proclaim”; in- ², dictum

Word History and Origins

Origin of indite¹

C14: from Old French enditer, from Latin indīcere to declare, from in- ² + dīcere to say

Example Sentences

Trump denied to the New York Times' Maggie Haberman that he was told he would be indited by "demurred" when asked if he had been told he was a target.

From Salon

He has retweeted posts calling for a wide range of people to be “handcuffed and prosecuted,” “indited,” put “in prison” and left “sitting in a cell.”

From Washington Post

He that would triumph over the petty trickery of fate must indite history at its source.

From Literature

Mrs. Clinton’s email scandal unravels and unravels and unravels, but never in a sufficiently decisive way to put it beyond her supporters’ oily spin and ultimately indite her, morally if not legally.

From Wall Street Journal

So, f became ph in words like sapphire and while Middle English had endite or indite, by the 17th century indict was being used, by analogy with the Latin indictāre.

From The Guardian