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scrip1

[skrip]
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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.

Origin of scrip1

1610–20; earliest sense “scrap of paper” perhaps gradational variant of scrap1; subsequent sense development shows influence of script and subscription, with def. 3a specifically a shortening of subscription receipt
Related formsscrip·less, adjective
Can be confusedscrip script

scrip2

[skrip]
noun Archaic.
  1. a bag or wallet carried by wayfarers.

Origin of scrip2

1250–1300; Middle English scrippe < Medieval Latin scrippum pilgrim's pack < ?

scrip3

[skrip]
noun Informal.
  1. a prescription, as for a drug.

Origin of scrip3

First recorded in 1965–70; shortening of prescription
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

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British Dictionary definitions for scrip

scrip1

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

Word Origin

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

scrip2

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

Word Origin

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

scrip3

script

noun
  1. informal a medical prescription

Word Origin

C20: short for prescription
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for scrip

n.

"certificate of a right to receive something" (especially a stock share), 1762, probably shortened from (sub)scrip(tion) receipt. Originally "receipt for a portion of a loan subscribed," meaning "certificate issued as currency" first recorded 1790.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper