writ
A written order, issued by a court, ordering someone to do somethingA written order, issued by a court, ordering someone to do (or stop doing) something.
» That was well writ.
Meaning
5 senses(countable)A written order, issued by a court, ordering someone to do (or stop doing) something.
Erlaß, Gerichtsurkunde, Verfügung
прика́зprikáz, распоряже́ние суда́rasporjažénije sudá
(law) a legal document issued by a court or judicial officer
(Australia, Canada, New Zealand, UK, countable)A document ordering that an election be conducted.
(UK, countable)An order issued by the House of Lords summoning peers to the Chamber.
(uncountable)Authority, power to enforce compliance.
(archaic, countable, uncountable)That which is written; writing.
Examples
4 sentencesThat was well writ.
Today we issue this writ, so that future generations may be free from persecution and domination.
Much of the country remains in the grip of powerful local warlords with private armies to enforce their writ.
deEin großer Teil des Landes ist weiterhin in der Gewalt mächtiger Kriegsfürsten, die ihre Erlasse mit privatem Militär erzwingen können. — Waldelfe
My book became the Holy writ for all those engineers.
Translations
7 languagesBy meaning 1
By meaning 1
Origin
From Middle English writ, from Old English writ and ġewrit (“writing”), from Proto-GermaniFrom Middle English writ, from Old English writ and ġewrit (“writing”), from Proto-Germanic *writą (“fissure, writing”), from Proto-Indo-European *wrey-, *wrī- (“to scratch, carve, ingrave”). Cognate with Scots writ (“writ, writing, handwriting”), Icelandic rit (“writing, writ, literary work, publication”).
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Forms
plural: writsSynonyms
2 synonyms- (law) a legal document issued by a court or judicial officer:judicial writ
Word family
3 related wordsLessons for this word
1 lessons- A1Countable and uncountable nouns — Because it can be uncountable