Word of the Day

: July 15, 2020

indite

verb in-DYTE

What It Means

1 : make up, compose

2 : to give literary or formal expression to

3 : to put down in writing

indite in Context

"Meanwhile, the single gentleman, the Notary, and Mr Garland, repaired to a certain coffee-house, and from that place indited and sent a letter to Miss Sally Brass, requesting her … to favour an unknown friend who wished to consult her…." — Charles Dickens, The Old Curiosity Shop, 1840

"I could not bear the idea of his amusing himself over my secret thoughts and recollections; though, to be sure, he would find little good of himself therein indited…." — Anne Brontë, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, 1848

Did You Know?

Indite looks like a misspelling of its homophone indict, meaning "to charge with a crime," and that's no mere coincidence. Although the two verbs are distinct in current use, they are in fact related etymologically. Indite is the older of the two; it has been in the English language since the 1300s. Indict, which came about as an alteration of indite, appeared in the 16th century. Ultimately, both terms come from Latin indicere, meaning "to make known formally" or "to proclaim," which in turn comes from in- plus dīcere, meaning "to talk, speak, or say."