writ

¹

[ rit ]

noun

1. Law.
   1. a formal order under seal, issued in the name of a sovereign, government, court, or other competent authority, enjoining the officer or other person to whom it is issued or addressed to do or refrain from some specified act.
   2. (in early English law) any formal document in letter form, under seal, and in the sovereign's name.
2. something written; a writing:

   sacred writ.

writ

²

[ rit ]

verb

, Archaic.

1. a simple past tense and past participle of write.

writ

¹

/ rɪt /

noun

1. law (formerly) a document under seal, issued in the name of the Crown or a court, commanding the person to whom it is addressed to do or refrain from doing some specified act Official nameclaim
2. archaic.
   a piece or body of writing

   Holy Writ

writ

²

/ rɪt /

verb

1. archaic.
   a past tense and past participle of write
2. writ large
   plain to see; very obvious

Word History and Origins

Origin of writ¹

before 900; Middle English, Old English; cognate with Old Norse rit writing, Gothic writs letter. See write

Word History and Origins

Origin of writ¹

Old English; related to Old Norse rit, Gothic writs stroke, Old High German riz (German Riss a tear). See write

Example Sentences

Of course, supportive housing — and just more housing writ large — is the ultimate solution to homelessness.

From Los Angeles Times

The group’s writ of mandate claims “discrepancies” between November 2022 election results and its own analysis of June 2023 voter rolls.

From Los Angeles Times

“The best avatar for a voter writ large is a woman in a swing state who didn’t go to college,” says pollster Evan Roth Smith, from Blueprint, a Democratic public opinion research company.

From BBC

He lamented that the conservative right and the nation writ large had become “too secular” and “too globalist.”

From Salon

Previous efforts by the brothers and their attorneys to cut short their incarceration have been fruitless, but a new writ of habeas corpus citing new evidence is being considered by the Dist.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• summons